


A Dream Discarded

by quillinkandmuse



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Character Death, Character Death Fix, Episode: s03e11 Going Home, Multi, Not Canon Compliant, Post-Episode: s03e11 Going Home, SwanThief, Swanfire - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-04-03
Updated: 2017-05-19
Packaged: 2018-01-18 01:43:02
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Major Character Death
Chapters: 6
Words: 26,240
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1410316
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/quillinkandmuse/pseuds/quillinkandmuse
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Emma and Henry have to leave town before the curse washes over Storybrooke once more, erasing everything that once was, taking her family away from her again.<br/>Many things have never been said between her and Neal and she can not accept them parting this way. So, the three of them, mother, father and son take their chances and leave together, as a family.</p><p> </p><p>Once they are forced to return, it turns out that Storybrooke is not the town that they had left behind.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Going Home

**Author's Note:**

> This chapter happens to be a little short. I tried adding stuff but it just didn't feel right. You will get more once chapter two happens. Boom.

The tell-tale rumbling of the curse echoed in the distance. Emma let go of her parents, barely holding it together. When she walked towards Neal, she almost gave in to the tears. This wasn't fair. There were so many things that she had to say, that he had to say, and now it would never happen. They would just part ways again, would go back to zero. That was not how it was supposed to be and she knew it.

  
'Neal, I'm so sorry.' she said quietly. He managed to smile, as he always did, and looked towards their son.  
'Don't be. You gotta get our boy the hell out of here.' he gently touched Henry's shoulder. Emma realized it wasn't unlike it had been with her. If he got hold of the boy now, he would never let go, just like had promised.  
Emma pulled Neal into a tight hug, still in disbelief that this would really happen. They would lose each other again.

  
'I...I can't. I can't do this.' she said. 'Henry needs you.'  
'Emma-'  
'No!' she shook her head, the wind blowing strands of her hair into her face. 'Let's at least try. Cross the town line with us. The curse never hit you.'  
Neal hesitated. 'I don't think that this is how it works, Em.'  
'I don't care! I'm the saviour, I make the rules. Right?' she turned to Regina, who looked even more helpless than before.  
'It's possible.' she admitted. 'The worst thing that could happen is that he disappears anyway.'  
'See?' Emma said. 'We do this, you come with me and Henry and we live together.'

  
For a moment she thought of Tallahassee, of how much this idea had once meant to them. She thought of the dream catcher, the swan pendant, their car. All the things that connected them to their past. This wasn't over.  
It was Henry who did the trick. He looked at his father, practically begging. 'Please, dad.'  
Neal nodded slowly. 'We'll try.'

  
Henry smiled, still sad, and made sure to say good-bye to his grandparents.  
Regina walked towards Neal and Emma. 'Listen, there is something you must know.'  
Emma already expected the worst, 'What now?'  
'When the curse washes over us, it will send us all back, and we will just go back to being stories again.'

  
Neal didn't say anything but Emma saw him glance over to Belle, whose eyes were still bloodshot from crying.  
Regina continued, 'Nothing will be left behind, including your memories. It's just what the curse does. Storybrooke will no longer exist, it won't ever have existed. So these last years? They will be gone from your memories.'

Emma couldn't speak. She wouldn't remember her parents, not even that little bit. Would she remember meeting Henry?  
'What will happen to us?' Neal asked.  
Regina shrugged. 'I don't know.' she said with a pained expression.  
'That doesn't sound much like a happy ending.' Emma said.  
'It isn't. But I can give you one.'  
Emma was almost too afraid to ask. 'You can preserve our memories?'  
'No,' Regina said regretfully, 'but I can do what I did to everyone else in this town and give you new ones.'

  
Emma wanted to tell her that everyone had been miserable in this town, that what they had had was not a good life, but a new roaring thunder, much louder this time, tied her tongue. Not far from them she saw a cloud of green smoke approach.  
'It won't be real though. Whatever memories you give us, they won't be real.'  
'Well, your past won't, but your future will.' Regina said, looking Emma in the eye. She wasn't lying. 'Now go. There is no time left.'

  
The three of them, Emma, Neal and their son Henry, got into the car. It was Neal who drove, knowing that Emma would want to look back at the family she would leave behind.  
'It will be all right.' he promised her weakly, knowing that he might have been lying, knowing that maybe he would disappear into nothing once the smoke had swallowed the town completely. They crossed the town line and watched their loved ones disappear.

 

 

_Portland, Oregon, 11 years ago_

'If you think you've reached this message in error-' Emma hung up the phone again. 'Damn right it's an error' she said angrily.  
Suddenly, two arms wrapped themselves around her waist.

  
'Sorry I'm late baby.' Neal muttered into her ear. Whatever anger she might have felt, evaporated just like this.  
'Hey.' she said happily, turning around in his arms. Their kiss was gentle and sweet, like it had always been. 'Are you ready?'  
Neal smiled down at her, giving her that warm feeling inside her belly, like she was the most beautiful person in the world, the one good thing in his life and she knew at once, they would never leave eachother. This was how it was supposed to happen.  
'I'm ready.' Neal said, but he leaned down again, giving her another kiss. She never got enough of them anyway.

It took them a while to get down to the coast. When they finally got out of the car, they made sure that their first stop was the beach. When they walked through the water by the shore, their shoes in hands, Emma felt like, for the first time in her life, she was in the right place.

'Tallahassee baby,' Neal whispered into her ear that night, after they had exhausted themselves thoroughly, 'we're home.'


	2. New York City Serenade

New York, one year later

There was just no proper time for an alarm to wake you up, Emma decided, when she lifted her head just enough from the pillow to press the right button.  
'Morning babe.' Neal said next to her. She turned to him and smiled. She loved waking up next to him, seeing him like that, the way his hair stood in all directions, sleep still in his eyes.

  
'Morning.' she said and rolled into his arms. He pulled her closer and placed a soft kiss on her lips. Morning kisses were the best kisses, even if you had to wake up for them first. Emma smiled against Neal's lips and put her arms gently around his neck. They lay there for a while, just kissing and snuggling.  
'Do you have to work today?' Neal asked, slowly sliding on top of her, placing soft kisses on her neck. Emma chuckled.  
'Probably, but I think I'll pass.'

A sudden noise from the kitchen forced them to break apart. Neal smiled. 'I think he's trying to make breakfast for us.'  
Henry had burst into their bedroom only once and after that never again, making sure to keep himself busy, often making a lot of noise, until his parents came out of the bedroom by themselves.

Emma pulled a face, but Neal just kissed her once more and got up. 'We'll continue this tonight.' he said, winking at her. Emma curled up under the still warm blankets for another five minutes. Her two boys would be fine without her for that long.  
Neal came into the kitchen and found his son wiping up a soggy mess from the floor. When Henry heard him approach, he looked up. 'I'm sorry. I tried making eggs but the bowl fell when I tried to mix them properly.'  
'Its okay, kid. I'll take care of it, you put some bread in the toaster.' Neal said, ruffling Henry's hair.

Neal cleaned up the floor and Henry put plates on the table. When Emma came in, she made all of them hot chocolate and bacon.  
Breakfast was the most relaxing part of the day for their little family.  
'Are you taking the bus today or do you want me to drive you?' Neal asked Henry, while the boy wolfed his third portion of bacon and eggs down.  
'Won't you be late for work?'  
Neal shrugged. 'It'll be okay.' he was the main IT guy for the company, they wouldn't throw him out just like that.  
'Okay!' Henry smiled broadly and got up from his chair to get ready, leaving his parents alone.  
Emma took a sip from her cocoa and looked at Neal, barely concealing a chuckle. It would have infuriated her, the way Neal turned her into a giggling school-girl, but the fact was, she was just so happy.

Their comfortable silence was harshly interrupted by the doorbell.  
'Are we expecting someone?' Neal asked confused, and Emma shook her head.  
'I'll go.' she said but Neal got up first and went to the front door to open. Before him stood the tall, dark, leathery guy he had not seen since hundreds of years. Literally.

'Killian? What are you doing here?' Neal asked confused. Hook looked at him, taking in each little detail.  
'Finally.' he said, moving forward and pulling Neal into a bear hug.  
'What are you doing?' Neal said, struggling slightly. He didn't want to hug this guy.  
'This is long overdue.' Hook answered, his voice muffled a little by Neal's shoulder.  
'Neal, who is it?' Emma called and the men parted.  
'Listen, I've got my wife and my child here, there's really no time to talk.'  
Hook pulled up a brow. 'Wife?' he echoed.  
'Yeah, wife. Unlike you, I grew up, Killian.' his tone wasn't nasty, it was just a fact.

Emma came to the two of them, automatically putting one slender arm around Neal's middle. She stared at Hook and then looked up at Neal giving him the 'what the hell?' look he knew so well.  
'It's an old friend. I'll be over in a minute.'  
'O...kay.' Emma said hesitantly. She gave Hook the smallest, not entirely real, smile and walked back into the apartment.  
Killian mumbled something inaudible, staring after her in a way that made Neal very uncomfortable. Then again, Killian Jones had been popular for wanting any and all women.

'Why are you here? How are you here?' Neal asked. He had come to this land without magic to make sure he wouldn't ever have another run-in with smelly pirates.  
'Emma's parents are in trouble, that's why I'm here. She has to come back to Storybrooke.'  
Neal froze. ''How do you know Emma?'  
Hook swallowed visibly. 'It's a very long story. Listen, can we meet? Somewhere?'  
Neal didn't know what to make of this.  
'Fine. Central Park at six. And better make that long story short.'  
Without another word he closed the door in the pirates face, for the first time in years feeling absolutely terrified.

-

Belle watched her last connection to her love, leave town with his family. She wasn't sad for him, she was happy even, that he got the chance to be with his son. It was something she knew Rumple would have wanted for him but still, she couldn't help feeling like she was loosing her own kin. Not that she had ever met little Baelfire, but she had always imagined that, if Rumple would find his boy, the three of them could be a family and start anew.  
Now Rumplestiltskin was gone.  
The roaring thunder of the curse, the thick smoke washed over them, making the yellow bug disappear from sight.  
Belle closed her eyes and waited, waited for the inevitable.

 

When she opened her eyes again, she froze. She stood in the middle of the town of Storybrooke. Nothing had changed, everything looked exactly like it had before. The small group around her immediately burst into frightened chatter.  
'What happened?' Snow asked over the bewildered voices around her, staring at Regina.  
'I don't know.' Regina said, not less confused, and turned to her step-daughter, only to jump back a little.  
'What?' Snow asked and followed Regina’s eyes, which were focused on her belly. A belly that was definitely less flat than it had been minutes before.

'I believe more time has passed than we know.' Regina said drily.  
Snow and David looked at each other, both helpless. Belle knew that the two of them had wanted a second child, but they would have probably preferred to remember, well, anything?  
'Where's Hook?' Ruby asked next to her.

Belle didn't really care about the pirate, honestly. He had tried to kill her, twice. She might have been forgiving but she wasn't stupid. Still, Ruby was right. The man who had stood not too far from them was now gone.  
Snow put a hand on her swollen belly, looking very uncomfortable. 'I...I think I would like to go to the hospital. Find out how long we have been gone or' she hesitated, 'how much longer it will take.'  
Finding out how far along Snow's pregnancy was, seemed a good way to get a hang of how much time had passed, still it didn't really mean anything.

'Do you think someone will be there?' Ruby asked. When Belle looked at her, she saw a sudden flash of hope cross the face of the wolf-girl.  
'We won't know until we've tried.' David answered. If possible, he looked even less comfortable than Snow, his face was paper white and his posture betrayed him. He was on guard, as if expecting an attack.  
Finally Granny spoke up. 'You two go to the hospital and the rest of us find out what the hell is going on here.' The old woman pulled the thick scarf around her shoulders higher.

'I will be in my office.' Regina said, her voice bitter. Belle wondered whether the Evil Queen knew more than she wanted to give away, but when she watched her awkwardly making her way to the Mayor's house, Belle remembered that both of them had lost someone today (or whatever day it was now).

As much as she hated Regina for everything she had done, she would not have wished her to lose her son.  
'Hey, are you okay?' Ruby asked gently. Before Belle could say anything, Granny pushed her granddaughter away.  
'Of course she isn't. No one is.' and with that she pulled Belle into a tight, warm, reassuring hug that only mothers and grandmothers could give properly. She patted Belle's back and the young woman felt herself giving in to the tears once again. 'There there. It will be fine, just not now.'

 

No, not now. Maybe not ever.

 

-

 

'Are you okay, you sound stressed?' Emma asked, holding her phone between shoulder and ear while she typed in the code to the door.  
'I'm fine, just having a long day.' Neal answered. She knew him since twelve years, recognized every little change in his voice. He was lying.  
'Neal, are you sure?' she said, picking up the phone again as she walked inside.  
'Don't worry about it, please.'

Emma pulled out the apartment keys from her pocket, making things more complicated than she had to because she was keen on not putting down the two heavy grocery bags, and unlocked the door. 'Is this about the guy from this morning?'  
'Kind of.' Neal admitted. 'Listen I will explain everything when I know what is going on, okay babe?'  
Emma smiled. Now he was telling the truth again. 'Okay. Do you want to order in or should I cook something?'  
She could practically hear his smile over the line. 'Henry is at a friends tonight anyway, isn't he?'  
Emma bit her lower lip to suppress a small laugh. 'Indeed he is.'

'Then we should just order in.'  
She put the bags on the kitchen counter and leaned against it, opening her leather boots. Rule of the house: no shoes inside. 'Okay then, I'll see you tonight. I love you.'  
'I love you too, Emma.'  
They both hung up at the same time.

Emma unpacked the bags and stored everything away, almost dropping the fresh pack of flour she had bought to bake a birthday cake for the party next week. It would be her 30th birthday after all, and even though she knew Neal would have taken over the job, she preferred the cake to be edible, even though watching her boys trying to manage the kitchen would have been fun.

Finally she pulled out a small plastic bag from the pharmacy, looking at it, just looking, with her heart starting to beat twice as fast as before.  
She had known for a while now that she had to do this. It was just the way of the world.

She had done this plenty times in her life, she was almost thirty after all! The first time had been back in Tallahassee when she had been pregnant with Henry. They had only been in town a few weeks before she had realized that something very important was missing. So she had taken the test, walking up and down in their tiny bathroom for five nerve wrecking minutes while Neal just sat on the closed toilet seat. When two small, blue bars had appeared, Emma had not known whether to laugh or cry, so she had done both. Neal had held her for at least half an hour after that, just holding her as close as possible.

Then he had gone out and cleaned up their lives. He had gotten a job, had made sure the car was legit and after he had done his fair share of work, he had managed to clean their records.  
A few months later, when she had already shown a visible baby bump, he had proposed.  
Emma took the pregnancy test out of the box and walked into the bathroom, closing the door. Her palms were barely sweaty, her heartbeat had steadied. She knew what would happen already. She knew what she wanted, what Neal wanted and what their son wanted. A little sister was all Henry had wished for in the past years.

 

Two small, blue stripes on the test. She leaned her head against the cool tiles behind her, unable to stop smiling.

 

-

 

Belle locked the library well. Not that anyone would go in and steal books or something, but it had just grown into a sort of habit. Also, she wanted to treat Rumples gift with all the respect it deserved. He had gotten her a library, twice, knowing how much she loved books.

It had turned out that they were still unable to leave town. Hook had not turned up again, so David had expressed hope that the pirate might have escaped the curse, seeing as he was able to leave town as well.  
'Ms. French, a word please?' Regina said next to her, startling poor Belle.  
'Of course.' she said stiffly, closing the button on her jacket.

Regina hesitated, then sighed. She pulled out a white envelope from her coat and handed it to her. Belle opened it and found two keys inside.  
'What is this?' she asked.

Regina didn't make eye contact when she said: 'the keys to Gold's shop and his house. I, as well as everyone else, figured that it only makes sense to give it to you, seeing as you were his...' Regina struggled to find a word, 'person.'  
Belle couldn't say anything, so she just nodded. For a beat or two Regina just stood in front of her, opening and closing her mouth, her words failing her until she finally said: 'Good day then.'

Belle watched the mayor as she walked into the direction she had come from, with an odd feeling that maybe, this was the best apology Regina could have given her.

 

Granny's was bursting with customers that night, and as Belle noticed, she did not know everyone here. She sat down at the counter and Ruby placed her usual order in front of her only minutes later. 'Iced tea, cheeseburger and fries. On the house.' she said softly, smiling at her friend. To Belle's surprise she managed to return it honestly.  
'Thank you Ruby.'

'Eat up girl, we have to put some colour into your cheeks again.' Granny said good naturedly, pushing the bottle of Ketchup towards her.  
While pouring a good amount on the still sizzling meat, Belle remembered her first time coming here, with Rumple.  
'Excuse me, may I sit here?' a vaguely familiar voice asked behind her. Belle turned around and almost screamed.  
'Mulan!' she threw her arms around the young woman's neck and hugged her tightly. She felt her return the hug, though obviously taken by surprise.  
'It's so good to see you, Belle.' she said quietly.  
'And it's so great to see you. Sit!'

Mulan dropped down on the chair next to her. She looked completely different, her hair open, spilling over her narrow shoulders like a black waterfall, Also she was wearing blue Jeans and a very tight, white tank top, other than her warriors armour.

Ruby came to the two of them. 'What can I bring you...?'  
'Mulan. Just water please? Oh wait!' she pulled a crumpled piece of paper from her Jeans pocket, 'Robin asked me to order this, to go?'

Ruby nodded. 'Okay, cool. It will take a moment,though.'  
'That's fine.' Mulan took a sip of water.  
'Robin?' Belle asked, 'Robin Hood? You two know each other?'  
'Oh yes, I am with him and his group of Merry Men now.' Mulan explained. 'It just sort of happened, but I don't regret it. Everyone is very nice.'

Belle was sure that there was more to the story but she didn't want to ask too many questions. Mulan would tell her, when she thought it was time.  
'Do you remember anything before you came here?'  
Mulan's brows furrowed. 'I remember staying behind in camp to look after Roland. He had a little cold and I wanted to make sure he got the right herbs. Then, suddenly, we were here.'  
'Roland?'

Mulan nodded mid-drinking and smiled. 'Robin's son.'  
Belle felt another genuine smile spreading on her face. 'That is wonderful.' so it had all worked out, in the end. Maybe magic wasn't all that bad.  
'I can take you to him, if you want.' Mulan offered. 'It seems you know each other so...' she shrugged.  
'Yes, I'd love that, actually.'

Belle finished her burger, sharing the fries with a very suspicious Mulan ('Why cut your potatoes in stick form?'), taking the five, brown paper bags with Mulan's order afterwards.  
'Here, Robin said I should pay with this?' Mulan said, placing a few bills on the counter. Ruby counted and nodded, getting the change from the cash register.  
'Why are you paying with paper?' Mulan asked curiously, 'is paper worth more here?'  
Belle thought about it. 'No,actually not. It's hard to explain.'  
'I gathered. This world is complicated.'

They walked out passing Rumplestiltskin's shop and going into the forest.  
'Don't you have a place to stay?' Belle asked tentatively. She couldn't imagine staying in the forest like that, not with the dropping temperatures.  
'We have tents. It's fine, don't worry.' Mulan smiled at her, reassuringly.

Even from afar Belle could see the small camp that the Merry Men had built. 'Where did you get the tents?' she asked curiously.  
Mulan chuckled. 'He is Robin Hood. He has his ways. Hello!' she called out. A tall, blond man turned around, a child sitting on his arms.  
'Mulan.' he said happily, walking towards them. 'And Belle?!' without a warning he pulled her into a tight hug.  
'Robin,' it was good to see another familiar face, 'and you must be Roland.' she said to the small boy in Robin's arms. He was tiny, the beanie on his wild, brown hair way too big for his head. He had huge brown eyes and he cutest dimples one could imagine. Ever.

The little boy nodded.  
'I see, Mulan told you all about me.' Robin said, his tone satisfied.  
'I'm not sure she told me everything there is to know, but she did say a few things. Also, we brought you food!'  
Roland clapped his small hands together and called, 'supper!'  
'You will stay, won't you' Robin asked, gently putting a warm hand on her shoulder. 'We have a lot of catching up to do.'

Belle agreed.

 

 

They spent the evening sitting together around a fire, eating and talking, Roland curling up on Belle's lap. It was curious, she realized, how much better it felt to be with friends in time of grief. Roland's small, warm body was reassuring and she couldn't help but stroke his soft hair.

When it was already deep black night around them, Belle slowly got up, lifting Roland on his father's lap. 'Are you sure you want to stay here in the forest? It's getting very cold.' she said, concerned for the little boy's health.  
'We really have nowhere else to go.'

She didn't even need to think about it. She pulled the key Regina had given her from her pocket. 'This is the key to Rumple's house. It's small, but it's something.'  
Robin frowned. 'What about you, my Lady?'  
'I have my place over the library. Please take it.'

Robin took the key and then Belle's hand in his, placing a small kiss on the back of it. 'Thank you. As always, you are too kind.'  
'Friends help each other out.' Belle said. She caught Mulan's eye.  
'Mulan, I do have a spare bedroom, if you want to come?' she didn't want to be lonely any more. She had spent far too much time isolated from others.

'I don't know.' the young woman hesitated, 'I should stay with Robin and the others.'  
'No it's fine.' Robin said hurriedly, 'as long as Belle promises to become part of my Merry Men.' he winked at her.  
Belle laughed quietly, 'I would love nothing more than that!' There were far, far worse people to call friends then these.  
'Great. Then I will see you two tomorrow for breakfast.' in Robins arms, Roland yawned and rubbed his eyes with small fists, curling up closer against his father's chest.

The women walked out of the forest together in silence. When they passed the pawn shop again, Mulan asked: 'Are you okay?'  
Belle thought about that, looking into the dark windows of the shop that now belonged to her.  
'I will be.'

-

The sun set, bathing the park around them in warm, orange light.  
Neal turned the small bottle with the blue potion in his hands, over and over again. He had taken a sip already.  
'I can't do this to her, Killian.' he said quietly. 'You don't understand. She's finally happy, we are happy. Henry has friends, a ton of them, really. We have a life here.' twelve years of happiness.  
'It wasn't real. You know Emma, she wouldn't want this if she knew about her parents.'  
Neal tried to swallow the lump in his throat.  
'What am I supposed to tell her?'  
'How about the truth?'

The two men looked at each other. Finally Hook said: 'You're right, it's rubbish.'

It really was. He had told Emma once, a long time ago, about where he had come from. At first she had called him crazy, had thought he was joking. It had taken a lot to get her to believe.

He had always said that he wanted to leave this life behind, the tragedy with his father, the betrayal and the heartbreak. It turned out, he, Neal, was the traitor, the heart breaker. The monster.  
'I can't believe I did this to her.' he said, leaning back against the bench.  
'So in this alternate reality you didn't go with our wooden friend, I gather?'  
Neal slowly shook his head. 'I never even met him. I remember fencing the watches, being a little late but only a few minutes. Then Emma and I left town.'

Hook sighed, taking his flask out of his leather coat and taking a swig, then offering it to Neal, who refused.  
'Well, whatever you do, do it fast.'  
'What happened anyway?' Neal looked at the pirate. 'You still haven't told me.'  
'I'm not entirely sure myself, you see?' Killian took another sip, then put the flask away. 'I left the group after we were brought back to the Enchanted Forest, to find my ship. A few weeks ago, I was informed that another curse hat hit, transporting everyone back to Storybrooke. I managed to find just enough ingredients for the potion, then I came here.'  
Neal frowned. 'Okay.'

Something told him that this wasn't quite right.  
Neal looked down at the bottle in his hands again. 'So this will be enough for both Emma and Henry?'  
'I doubt it. I believe Emma will need all of this, to bring her memories back.'  
Neal side-eyed Killian. 'We'll make it work.' he finally said, getting up. As much as he wanted to smash the bottle on the ground, right then and there, he knew he didn't have a choice. Emma would have wanted to know.  
The only thing he was afraid of, was that he would lose his family once again.

'I'll get her to drink this, but in the right moment. You have to give me some time here, Killian.'  
'No, I get it mate.' Hook said looking him in the eye. 'Do whatever you have to do.'  
'I will.'  
After all, he always had.


	3. Tale As Old As Time

'How does this little box know about my father?' Mulan asked puzzled, picking up another piece of caramel popcorn. At first she hadn't wanted to try, but now the bowl stood on her, blanket covered, lap.  
'I told you, your story is famous! You inspired so many girls.' Belle leaned into the couch pillow next to her friend, 'you are an icon!' she said proudly.  
Mulan blushed a little but could not hide a smile. 'Really?'  
'Definitely.'

Together they watched the whole film, laughing about the soldier trio as they sung a song about the perfect woman.  
'They are so shallow!' Mulan said, chuckling. 'But I do have to say, I would have loved to have a little dragon with me. Or at least the cricket.'  
'Was your grandmother really like that?'  
Mulan pulled a face. 'No, she was much more traditional than that. She was very angry when I ruined the appointment with the match-maker.'  
'So that was true?' Belle asked, looking at her friend, amazed.  
Mulan's blush deepened. 'I didn't mean to do it, I tripped over my stupid dress. Everyone laughed behind my back for months.'  
'Well, they certainly didn't when you returned as a hero.' Belle said gently, nudging her friends shoulder with her own.  
'They probably wouldn't have, you're right, but my village was destroyed by the Barbarians only days after I left.'  
'I'm so sorry.'

They sat in silence, watching the characters on screen run from a huge avalanche.  
'What about Shang? Did he exist?'  
Mulan laughed. 'Yes but he was older. Much much older and not very good looking.'  
'So,' Belle asked hesitantly, 'You two never...?'  
Mulan looked at her. 'Never what?'  
'You know. Never you know what?'

Mulan stared at her, confused. Suddenly her cheeks turned an alarming shade of red. 'No! Of course not!'  
Belle laughed. 'I'm sorry, I'm sorry! But it's just what the movie is playing at.'  
Mulan shuddered. 'No, I would never...' she shook her head vehemently, 'he threw me out as soon as they noticed I was a girl. They left me in the hills. I couldn't go back, because there was nothing to go back to, so I came to the Enchanted Forest. And then we met!' she smiled at Belle.

Belle took her hand, squeezing it lightly. 'I'm glad we did. '

 

 

They watched the film till the very end. Belle could have sworn to have seen tears in Mulan's eyes when the entirety of China bowed before the young woman.  
After the credits, Mulan stretched her arms and neck. 'If there is a “movie” about me, is there one about you as well?' she asked curiously.

Belle nodded slightly. 'But it's different than yours. It's more about romance than adventure. Also, it's not accurate at all!'  
Mulan smiled. 'I can imagine.' she took the DVD cover in her hands, much more careful than necessary. 'I'm happy these were made, though.' she said thoughtfully, smiling down on the cover, 'And I really like the songs.'

Belle knelt down in front of the huge box with different films. Some of them, Rumple had brought, others were by Ruby. She had gotten Mulan's movie by Neal, which had made her more than happy, and the rest of the movies she had bought herself in the store. She loved reading, but sometimes there was nothing better than a glass of sweet tea and a Disney movie to relax.  
'I have plenty more, if you want to see them.' she offered and Mulan nodded hastily. 'I have 'The Little Mermaid', 'Cinderella' oh I love that one, I have...' she lifted a few movies out, 'oh! I have 'Sleeping Beauty'!' from the corner of her eye she could see Mulan swallowing uncomfortably, pulling the blanket higher as if it was a shield. So she had been right, there was more to Mulan's story than she had told her. 'How about this one?' she asked, giggling like a little girl. She held the cover towards Mulan so she could read it.

'Robin Hood?' she asked, and then: 'Why is there a fox on the cover? And why is he clothed?'  
Belle changed the DVD in her player and dropped back down on the couch, taking a handful of popcorn from the bowl. 'You'll see.' she answered, smirking.  
'Okay. Hey, don't eat it all!' Mulan protectively pulled the bowl back on her lap, 'I never thought exploded corn would taste this good.'  
'Don't worry, there is plenty more where that came from.' she leaned her head on Mulan's shoulder,well aware that the young woman stiffened for a second, before she relaxed and leaned her head against Belle's.  
All those romantic comedies hadn't lied. Movie nights with friends were a ton of fun, and a great remedy for heartaches. No matter what kind.

 

-

 

'Hey babe, I'm home!' Neal called, hanging the key on the board where it belonged before getting rid of his shoes and his Jacket. The potion was securely stored in the inside pocket of it, where it would stay until he would know what to do with it. Hook would come over the next day, to see if they were ready to go to Storybrooke then, which they hopefully would be.  
'Hi!' Emma called from the living room. When he walked in, he momentarily stopped in the doorway.

Emma sat at the table, which was decorated with candles. She looked more beautiful than he had ever seen her, wearing a red dress that showed off her perfect figure, her blonde hair beautifully done into soft curls. 'What's the occasion?' he asked, smiling. He just couldn't stop looking at her. He wished he had had some time to do something with himself. She looked so stunning and he just looked...worn out?

'Sit.' Emma said, nodding to the seat opposite her. Although there were plates laid out, no food was on the table. He sat down, looking at his girl curiously.  
Emma took a deep breath, then she reached over and put a small gift box in front of him, bow on top and everything. Neal still looked at her, more confused than he had been before. 'I thought it was your birthday in two weeks, not mine today.' he winked at her and she chuckled, nervously.

'Well, you'll still get a gift.' Emma said, her voice a little higher than usual. She really was nervous.  
'Can I open it?' he asked quietly and Emma nodded.  
He lifted the top off the box and looked inside. He picked up the positive pregnancy test, well aware that Emma was gripping the edges of her chair tightly, staring at him, waiting.  
'So...what do you think?' she asked tentatively.

Without hesitation he got up from his seat, walking over to his wife, and pulled her in a tight hug. 'I love you.' he whispered into her ear. Emma pressed herself up against him.  
'I know it's a bad time-'  
'No, it's great.' he knelt down in front of her, taking her hands in his. 'I can't imagine anything better, Emma. I mean it.' they looked each other in the eye.  
Finally Emma leaned down and kissed him. His hand found its way into her hair, pulling her closer.  
They would have a baby. Again.

What he wouldn't have given not to remember, Neal thought. He just wanted to go back to the bliss of this morning, not knowing how he had let Emma down, how he had hurt both her and Henry. 'Are you okay?' Emma whispered against his lips.  
'Just a little shocked, I guess.' he smiled, gently caressing her cheek. 'But it's perfect, Emma.'  
It was confusing. One set of memories told him that they had wanted this for quite some time, had even talked about it here and there. That they had decided not to plan anything and just let it happen, if it should happen.

The other set of memories told him that they had just met each other again a year ago, after he had destroyed her life eleven years earlier, that he had had a fiancée who had tried to kill him, that there were many things for the two of them to work out before they could ever even consider having another child. How could he take the happiness, the security away from his family? Now, at all times?

 

The doorbell rang. 'It's probably the food.' Emma said smiling.  
'I'll get it. You two stay here.' he said, walking to the door. He heard Emma chuckle behind him.  
Neal pulled the door open. In front of him stood a tall guy with greying hair.  
'Hey Walsh.' he had moved in here a few months after them. He was nice guy, quiet, kept to himself. They had become friends over the three girls that lived together in 102B, who were a nightmare, and who had hosted huge parties on the rooftop of the building every other weekend.

'Hey Neal. I hope I'm not interrupting anything?' Walsh smiled apologetically.  
'It's fine, we were just waiting for our food to arrive.'  
'Chinese or Indian?'  
'I don't know, my Lady ordered.'  
'It's probably better that way. Anyway, I just wanted to ask you whether you could lend me that pipe wrench of yours?'  
'Again?' Neal asked. Walsh had come over three times in the past five weeks.  
'Yeah, unfortunately.'  
'You should call the landlord again. Maybe you can get him to lower your rent.' Neal smirked. The building was okay, most of the time. Things broke, it was just the way of the world.  
'I definitely will. It's not like we're not paying enough to have cold and warm water, right?'  
'Right. I'll get the wrench, just wait here.' he went inside, walking past Emma into the kitchen. He kept his tools underneath the sink, just in case.  
'Who is it?' Emma asked.  
'Just Walsh, seems like his pipes are acting up or something.'  
'Again?' Emma asked astonished. 'The poor guy should find himself a new place, he's been here a hundred times.'  
'If that puts an end to endless interruptions.' Neal said, smiling. He leaned down to give Emma a small kiss before he walked back to the front door. 'Here it is.'  
'Thank you.' Walsh said relieved, taking the heavy wrench. 'I'll bring it back tomorrow.'

Neal hesitated. 'We might be out then. I'll pick it up at your place, okay?'

Walsh nodded. 'Have a good night. Oh, I guess your food has arrived.' he said, looking at a small man coming down the hallway, carrying a Styrofoam box.  
'You're right. Take care.'

He'd really miss the nice neighbours once they went back to Storybrooke, in fact, he'd miss a lot of things.  
He would miss eating with Emma, surrounded by warm candle light, talking about their future child. He would miss wondering about whether they would find a new place with more space, about names and whether they would have a daughter or another son (both was fine, though they knew full well that Henry wanted nothing more than a sister).

Neal shoved aside all dark thoughts for the night, not just for himself, but for Emma. Least of all, he wanted her to worry.  
'I wish the fire had not destroyed all of Henry's old things. I really loved his crib, you remember? You built it for him.'  
Neal smiled widely. 'Yeah, I remember. I will probably do a better job this time.'  
He remembered hitting his thumb with the hammer quite a few times, just like he remembered how uneven he had cut the boards. Still, Emma had loved it and little Henry had slept perfectly fine, while his parents had sat to both sides of his bed, holding his tiny hands.  
But it wasn't real. Never had been.

After dinner they sat down on the couch together, watching movies.  
'Can we watch 'the Beauty and the Beast'? Emma asked, immediately making the pout-y lips she knew Neal couldn't resist.  
'Everything my two babies ask for.' he said, turning on the movie. Emma placed her head on his chest so he could play with her hair. He put his arms around her, holding her close, gently stroking her hair, her sides. Cautiously he put his hand on her belly.  
He could feel a smile spread over her face when she put her hand on his, entwining their fingers. She raised her head a little and pressed her lips to his.

'I love you more than anything', she whispered. He rested his forehead against hers, closing his eyes.  
All he had ever wanted was a moment of peace. And maybe this was it. If this was all he would ever get, he would still be happy, he decided. As long as Emma was happy, he would be too. And if she wasn't, then he would do anything so she could be.  
'I love you too. More than you can imagine, Em.' She would only be truly happy with her parents by her side. He would give that to her, he had done it before and now he would do it again, no matter the cost for him.  
Emma Cassidy would be happy, even if it killed him.

 

-

 

'What? What what what?' Robin asked desperately, when Mulan had burst into hysterical laughter for the first time she looked at him.  
'Nothing.' she said, sobering her expression with all her energy. When she looked at Belle next to her, they locked eyes. Belle, trying to drink her coffee, snorted and almost choked and the hot liquid, messing up her yellow blouse. She didn't even care.  
'You two are unbelievable.' Robin said, smiling still, lifting little Roland on his lap. 'Look at those cheeky girls Roland.'  
'Cheeky!' Roland echoed, pointing his tiny index finger at the two of them.

Mulan smirked. 'Right, Roland.' she turned to Belle, 'isn't he sharp as...a fox?' for a second the two women fell silent, just staring at Robin, before they burst into another wave of hysterical laughter.  
Poor Robin, completely unaware of what these silly girls were actually talking about, just frowned at them. Then again, he was happy if they were happy. Belle had had the most heartbreaking look on her face the previous night, her eyes red rimmed from crying and he hadn't seen Mulan smiling once ever since she had joined the group.

So really, he was glad they had found something that had cheered them up so much. If he only knew what, he would have felt a whole lot better.  
Finally Belle pulled herself together, wiping tears of laughter from her eyes, when Ruby came over, handing her a damp towel. 'What are you so happy about?' she asked, smiling gladly. Ruby didn't like to see her friends suffer.  
'Oh, we had a movie night yesterday.' Belle said, giving Ruby a very intense look, then nodding towards Robin. 'If you know what I mean.'

Ruby bit her lip. 'Sounds fun', she said.  
'It was. You should join us next time!'  
'Sure why not. If that's okay with you, Mulan?'  
Mulan nodded. 'Will there be exploded corn?'  
'Popcorn? Sure, I can bring some.' Ruby said, refilling Robin's coffee mug, while she was there. 'Anything else?'  
'Anything but alcohol.' Robin said drily. 'You girls are too loud and bubbly as it is.' he winked at Belle, who smiled and stared down at her blouse, trying to get rid of the fresh stains. 'I'm sorry.' she said honestly.  
'Don't be, I'm glad you're better. So what were you talking about?'  
'Nothing!' Mulan said hastily. 'Nothing at all.'

Robin looked up at Ruby, hoping she would explain, but she just lifted both her hands in defiance. 'Sorry, girl code. I won't tell if they won't tell.' and with that she returned to the counter.  
'Women have a code?' Robin asked, now fully confused. This new world was really weird, full of mysteries he had yet to uncover. Not that he minded.  
'Of course. It's like a code of honour.' Belle explained.  
That made more sense.

'Maybe you should tell me all about that.' Robin said, 'I like to learn new things.'  
Belle looked up at him, her cheeks the loveliest shade of pink from all the laughing. And maybe from something else as well.  
'Girl codes are a secret to non-girls.' Belle said, her voice firm. 'But there is a man-code as well.'  
Robin shrugged. 'Okay. Then maybe you can teach me something else.'  
Next to Belle, Mulan was smiling into her cup and Robin could have sworn that Belle gave her a slight kick in the shin from under the table.

'What do you want to know?'  
Robin leaned back in his seat, rocking Roland a little before pulling the boy close to his chest again. 'I don't know. Yet.'  
Roland chuckled in his arms, fishing a piece of pancake from the plate in front of them, taking small bites from it, his hazel eyes never leaving Belle.

 

-

 

'We really have to stop this.' Emma murmured between two kisses. Not that she tried to stop him, when he trailed kisses down her neck. Henry was still at his friend's, so they had the place all for themselves for maybe another hour or so.  
'Make me.' he whispered against the soft skin of her belly. Emma just chuckled and let him continue, leaning back into the warm pillows with a satisfied sigh.

When they heard the door a little over an hour later, they still lay in bed, Neal holding Emma close to his chest.  
'Do you want us to talk to him now?' Emma asked quietly. Neal had planned on getting Emma and Henry to drink the potion now anyway, so really, the baby talk was the easiest way to get the conversation started.  
'We'll talk to him over breakfast. Brunch.' He said after looking at the clock.

Emma slowly got up and put on some clothes while Neal stayed in bed to enjoy the view. He would probably go to hell for taking advantage of the situation the night before (and the entire morning) but he couldn't get himself to care about that. It was probably his last chance, ever, to be with Emma like that.

'Aren't you coming?' she asked gently, leaning over him again, planting another soft kiss on his lips. He smiled and forced himself out of bed. The sheets were pulled from all but one corners of the bed and almost fell to the floor.  
Emma walked into the kitchen and Neal heard her and Henry talk about his friend and some new game he had to have under any circumstances otherwise the world would end.  
Neal put on some clothes and walked past his family, ruffling Henry's hair when he walked past him. 'Hey Kid, how was your night.'  
'Good.'

He walked to the front door, to get the potion from his jacket. He checked the inner pockets. No bottle.  
He was sure he had put it there, he remembered clear as day. He checked all the other pockets and then double-checked the inside pockets again, but nothing.  
'Henry, did you take something from my jacket?' he called back into the kitchen.  
'No, why?'  
'Nothing.'  
This didn't make any sense. Potions didn't vanish just like this.  
'Hey, you okay?' Emma asked behind him, wrapping her arms around his middle.  
'Yeah, sure. I just lost something important.'  
'Oh no.' Emma frowned. 'What is it?'  
He hesitated. 'The address of a friend. He's in trouble and he wanted me to come over and help out.'  
'Really? Why didn't you say anything?'  
Neal pulled her into his arms. 'I didn't want to stress you out.'

Emma leaned against him, closing her eyes for a moment. 'How long will you be gone?'

 

He knew that he only had one shot at this. If the potion really was gone, and if he couldn't get Hook to get more, then he had to take Emma and Henry to someone who knew their way around magic. Which was either Regina or the Blue Fairy.

'I was hoping you two would come with me. I think it will take a while and I don't want to leave you two behind for that long.'  
Emma looked up at him, confusion written all over her face. 'But Henry has to go to school.'  
'They have schools in Maine.' Neal said quietly.  
Emma's eyes narrowed. 'You're not telling me everything.'  
Best not to lie any more than he already had. 'You're right. It's really complicated, babe, I'm sorry.'  
Emma sighed. 'Is this about the strange guy who came to our door?'  
He pulled a face. 'Yeah. He gave me the message from that friend.'

She hesitated. 'You are not in trouble, are you?'  
'No, Emma.' He looked into her eyes. No lies. 'Listen, I haven't talked to these people in a long time. Not since our life together.' not technically a lie. He was just like his father, good at twisting words, Neal thought, disgusted with himself.  
Emma smiled weakly. 'You are a really great guy you know that? Okay, we'll drive to your friends place with you.'  
'Thank you babe.' he kissed her, gently and lovingly.  
Fate had gotten him a little more time, it seemed. Or maybe not. Maybe someone else had.

 

-

 

'I'm not so sure that this is a good idea, any more.'  
'It was your idea, Belle. Don't worry about it, it's worth a try.' Robin said gently, guiding her arm. 'And now, release.'  
After a moments hesitation, she let go. The arrow fell, more than flew, only a few steps away from her. Belle's shoulders slumped.  
'I'm a loser.'  
'What? No!' Robin said, still smiling. 'Everyone starts small, even I did. You'll just have to practice.'

Belle sighed and took a new arrow from the quiver on her back, She had promised to teach Robin about this new world they found themselves in, though she probably wasn't an expert, as long as he would teach her to use weapons to defend herself. She was absolutely sick of being the one who was tied up or shot or generally thrust to the floor by the people around her. She would become a fighter, just like Mulan. Her friend didn't take anything from anyone, ever.  
Robin stood right behind her, gently putting a hand on her elbow, barely pushing it downwards. 'Relax, take a deep breath. Try to keep your shoulders lower.'

He was a good teacher, as far as she could tell. He had taken her to the edge of the town, not far into the woods, so they wouldn't cause anyone to get hurt. Roland was still with Mulan and the others in town, far away from any kind of arrow.  
'Release.'  
Again, she let go of the tip of the arrow. This time, it actually hit a tree before it fell to the ground again. Well, at least something.  
'Good. How does your shoulder feel?' Robin asked, picking up the arrows.  
'Belle flexed her shoulders. 'Sore. But it's fine!'

Robin winked at her. 'I know it is.' he wiped the muddy arrows on his jacket and walked over to her again. Belle felt nostalgia wash over her, a wave that almost drowned her, when she remembered how she had met her new instructor.  
The last time she had stood in the woods with someone who had fired arrows, it had been Rumple. He had tried to kill Robin, of all people. It had been the first time she had seen something truly good in Rumple, something more than the Dark One that he so readily put on display whenever people were around.

How things had changed.

She managed to shoot another arrow towards a tree, Robin guiding her every movement. Her left arm hurt a little, seeing as the bowstring brushed against her skin every time she let go of the arrow. She would have a nice bruise the next day, she was sure.

Still, it wouldn't be the worst injury she had ever gotten. And this time, at least, it was voluntarily. Robin helped her to become more than just the scared little librarian that she was, the one that got pushed around by people like a puppet.  
No one would lock her away for another thirty years again, she would make sure of that.

'Don't hold your breath.' Robin said, right next to her ear when she pulled the string tight. She could practically feel his breath on her skin. Arrow shooting was not as easy as he made it look, she thought. There was a lot to think about, her posture, her breath. If she had trouble hitting an immobile tree, how hard would it be to actually hit a moving target? Would she ever have to hit a moving target though? She didn't want to kill anyone.

The cold made her fingers numb and she released too early. The arrow just kind of dropped, looking almost like it was too lazy to move forward much. Robin laughed heartily.  
'Are you nervous, lady Belle?'  
'No, I-' she didn't know what to say, really. Yes, he made her nervous, the way he touched her, gently, never using force. It was the good kind of nervous, the one she had only ever felt around one person before. It didn't help much that she knew what he looked like without a shirt.

'Am I making you nervous?' Robin asked quietly, coming closer. She noticed how much taller he was, compared to her. He was built much sturdier than Rumple, much broader. Though it wasn't about that at all, of course. He was just her friend.  
Robin smiled down on her, very gently tucking a strand of her hair behind her ear. Her breath caught when he leaned down a little, closing the distance between them.

 

A flash of yellow caught her eye. She turned her head towards the road and saw the bug, Emma's bug, drive down the road towards the city, crossing the town line as if it was nothing.


	4. Strangers Like Us

'One large chicken-salad. On the house.' Granny said in a tone that did not allow any protest, placing a huge plate in front of Regina, alongside a fork and a napkin.  
'I didn't order this.' Regina objected.

Granny crossed her arms in front of her chest and shot a stern look at Regina. 'You will eat this salad. Enjoy it, your Majesty.' She turned on her heel and walked back to the counter, where Ruby was sitting together with the dwarves, who told her stories about the mines. All the laughing had made Ruby's cheeks turn crimson and Regina noticed that two tables from her own, Dr. Whale was staring intently at the waitress.

Regina picked up her fork and picked through the salad, resting her chin on her other hand. She had come to Granny's that night, hoping that she would feel a little less lonely. The silence of her house was driving her mad, and knowing that she was now useless made things even worse. Ever since they had come back, her magic was gone. She couldn't even do the most simple things, like lighting up a candle or closing the curtains. Of course she could do all these things without magic, but that was time consuming.

If Rumplestiltskin had been here, they might have figured out what was going on. The town wasn't what it used to be. Of course, Regina hadn't wanted anyone to be happy back in the day, but Storybrooke – under her – had been pretty peaceful after all, until the curse was broken.  
As always, even when she was nowhere around, it all came down to Emma, Regina believed. Emma had changed things, had changed this town before she had disappeared, hadn't she? So how could Storybrooke ever go back to what it had been, once upon a time.  
Someone slipped into the seat opposite her and she looked up.

'That seat is taken', she said sharply which the man did not seem to mind. At first sight, he reminded her of Sydney (whom she had kind of forgotten in the mental ward, she reminded herself with a pang of guilt), but he was taller, his facial features a little finer. Black hair framed his face and a few oily strands almost hid his black eyes. His grin was wide and showed brilliantly white teeth.

'Can I help you?' Regina asked irritated.  
The man didn't say anything, just cocked his head to one side, his eyes fixed on hers. His silence was unnerving.  
'What?' Regina asked more and more unnerved by the man's demeanour.  
'I just wanted to bring you a drink, you look like you need it', Granny said next to her, putting down a glass of iced tea. Regina looked up at her. 'Excuse me?'

Granny's brows furrowed. 'Are you feeling well?'  
Behind her, Ruby and the dwarves stared at Regina as well.  
'No I-', the seat in front of her was empty. Maybe she was going insane now. 'I'm fine. Thank you.' she said stiffly, pulling money out of her wallet. When she left a moments later, she didn't notice the amulet, dangling from her bag.  
She was too busy staring at Emma's yellow Volkswagen in front of her.

 

-

 

'Wow. Your friend sure likes it quiet', Emma said, smiling broadly at Neal next to her, once they drove down the main street. There was barely a soul around.  
'They sure do', Neal said, careful not to be too loud. Henry was sleeping in the back seat, his PSP hanging from one limp hand.

His head was resting against the window, his mouth hanging open just a little, fogging up the glass.  
'They?' Emma asked curiously.  
Neal thought a moment. He didn't know how to play this, yet. Hook was nowhere to be found and God only knew when the guy would decide turn up again. Neal could take Emma to Regina but considering that Henry was with them, that didn't sound like the best idea.

'Well, my buddy David and his wife, Mary-Margaret. They are great, trust me.'  
'Wife huh? You never talked about them before', Emma remarked, sounding the slightest bit suspicious.  
Neal put on his most calming smile and took her hand gently in his. 'Well, it's practically ancient history.'  
'And still they call and you come to them without hesitation', Emma said slowly, looking at him. Neal felt his heart pick up a little pace. Suddenly, Emma smiled and leaned toward him, kissing his cheek.  
'You are a great guy, you know that?'

Neal forced a smile. 'Thank you babe.' All of this was horrible. He was lying to her, for days he had been lying now. Then again, what else could he do right now?  
'Do you want to go find a hotel room while I talk to my friends?'  
'No, I want to meet them!' Emma said happily,squeezing his hand lightly.  
Oh Lord, he hoped that Snow's and David's poker faces were better than his. He parked not too far from Granny's Diner only seconds later. The light was on and he saw Grumpy and Sneezy inside, drinking with Ruby.. who threw her head back, laughing loudly. By a table in the corner, all by herself, Regina sat her head hanging low. She poked through Granny's chicken salad with her fork, not looking up when someone Neal didn't know slipped into the booth opposite her.

'Someone you know in there?' Emma asked beside him and he shook his head, before he changed his mind.  
'I do know a few people in here, but I can catch up with them later.' He hadn't seen Belle and really hoped she was all right.  
'They got out of the car, Emma waking their son gently. Henry shuffled down the road with them, rubbing sleep from his eyes. When he saw that they had to walk up a few flights of stairs, he groaned but followed them anyway.  
'Come on Kid, you're too young to stress about a few stairs. Look at your old Dad, I have all the reason to mope', Neal teased gently.

'You're not old', Henry said, smiling a little.  
When they arrived in front of the right door, Neal hesitated a moment. Worry washed over him, suffocating him. Still he managed to knock, a silent prayer on his mind.

 

 -

 

 Snow sighed happily, leaning back into the comfortable armchair, her legs resting on David's lap. He massaged her feet, always the dutiful husband, while she read the book about pregnancies that Dr. Whale had given her at their appointment.

She was content with the silence between her and David, as was he. The past few days had been quite confusing and busy. Everyone had looked to them when deciding what to do now. Snow had no idea what had happened and she had no idea what they were supposed to do now. She was pregnant, her daughter was gone, all she wanted was to relax and try to sort things out, one after another.

Their lives had always worked in this small town, before the curse had been broken anyway. In the end, everyone had decided to try and keep things normal until they found another way. As far as anyone knew, there were no magic beans left, even though they always seemed to magically turn up somehow whenever it was most (in-)convenient.

Honestly, after giving it some thought, Snow didn't really want to return to the Enchanted Forest right now. The few pages of her book she had read, frightened her, to put it mildly. Of course, this was her second pregnancy and she knew the drill, or at least vaguely remembered it, but the saying 'ignorance is bliss' had never been more true, in her opinion. The first time she hadn't really known what would happen. This time she was prepared for the bloating, the roller coaster emotions, the cravings and the pain that would inevitably come with the birth, but reading about all the risks and possible complications, the challenges that would come after the birth of her second child, well that was a whole other thing.

'Maybe you should put that book away.' David said gently, rubbing along the arch of her foot with his thumb.  
'I need to know all this. Snow said, but she lowered the book, leaning her head back a little. 'After all, we barely have any time left to get prepared.'  
David shook his head a little, still smiling. He gently tickled her foot and gently pulled her toe. Snow laughed, pulling her legs away protectively.  
'Don't do that, you know I'm ticklish!'  
'I apologise profusely, fare lady.' David said in the most ridiculous tone and got up to plant a gentle kiss on his wives lips. Snow pulled him closer, gently stroking the back of his neck with her nails, just how he liked it best.

A knock on the door interrupted them harshly. Snow looked to the clock, her brows furrowed.  
'Who could that be? At this time of the day?'  
David stood up straight, not looking less worried. 'Let's find out.'  
With a few strides he was by the door and pulled it open. In front of him stood three people. Before David could say anything, Neal said: 'David, good to see you!' and pulled him into a tight hug. Very quietly Neal whispered: 'They don't have their memories.'

David froze, just a second, before he found his composure. 'Neal.' he said, smiling fondly and patting the man on the back. Neal let go of him and turned to Emma and Henry. His daughter and grandson.  
'I don't think you have ever met my wife Emma and my son, Henry?' Neal said, loud enough for Snow to hear, who came to them.

David looked at his daughter, slightly flustered. His Emma looked more happy than he had ever seen her. The lines around her mouth had smoothed completely and her hair was styled, her make-up absolutely flawless. She was positively radiant when she stretched out her hand to shake his.  
'Hi! I'm so happy to meet you', she said smiling broadly.  
'As am I.' David managed to say when Snow came up beside him. He put an arm around her shoulders, putting the lightest pressure into the touch.  
'This is my wife, Sn-...Mary-Margaret.'  
Only to him, Snow's smile seemed the tiniest bit sad. 'Hello Emma. And hello Henry', she shook the boys hand, then put her hands on her impressively big belly. 'It's so nice to finally getting to meet you.'

 

 -

 

Sitting in the armchair by the window, Henry yawned a little too overly dramatic for anyone to miss the obvious message.  
'How about Henry and I find a hotel room or something so you guys can finish catching up?' Emma asked, ruffling the boy's hair affectionately.  
'You can sleep here if you want,' Snow offered, 'we have a spare room upstairs.'  
Neal and Emma exchanged a look and he nodded. He wanted Emma to be close to her parents and he felt better if they weren't too far from his sight right now.

'That's very nice, thank you.' Emma said and got up. 'Come on Kid, let's get our stuff from the car.' she took the car keys from Neal and kissed him lightly before she and Henry went outside.  
A moment of silence stretched out between the three of them, unbearably long until David cleared his throat.  
'So, you two are married now.'

Neal swallowed thickly. 'It's what Regina gave us as a memory. As soon as Emma gets her memories back and wants out,' his voice broke at that and he needed to collect himself, 'if she wants out, then that will be that and I won't stop her.' even though that would be terribly hard, now that she was pregnant again. 'But that's not the point now, tell me what happened. I thought this town was supposed to be gone.'  
Snow took a deep breath and absent mindedly stroked her belly. 'We don't know what happened. Around a month ago we just 'appeared' here.'  
Neal paused. 'A month?' he echoed.  
Snow and David exchanged a look. 'Yes, why?' David asked.  
'Hook came to me only two days ago.'  
'Wait, Hook? Hook came to you?' Snow said, her voice getting angry. 'How is that possible? He vanished after we came back, we never saw him again. We thought that he was stuck in the Enchanted Forest, or something along those lines.'

Neal's head began to pound. He should have asked more questions when the damned pirate had come to him.  
'Did you guys split up once you went back?'  
'We have no idea,' David said truthfully, 'we don't remember anything that happened in the past year. We weren't even sure that it was only a year until we met Philip and Aurora last week with their child. Their daughter just turned six months old, so that gives us a clue.'

A knock at the door startled them and David got up hurriedly to let Emma and Henry back in.  
Neal knew he could have told them a year had passed. Also if there had been a calendar anywhere nearby they could have just checked the date, he thought, a little confused.

David showed his daughter and grandson upstairs, carrying their luggage, leaving Snow and Neal alone.  
They listened to Emma and David talking upstairs, while Neal felt more and more awkward. His mother in law just sat there, with a thoughtful expression, while she stroked her belly.  
Neal cleared his throat even though he didn't know what he could have said.  
'You shouldn't have come here.' Snow burst out, keeping her voice as low as possible. Her eyes and Neal's met.  
'Then why send for us? Hook said you called on him...?', Neal trailed off for a second. Hook hadn't actually said, who had sent him to New York.

'I don't know why we would do that. The entire past year is gone, it's like we are cursed all over again.'  
'Only that you know that you are Snow White.' Neal leaned back in the armchair, ruffling his own hair in frustration. They heard footsteps coming downstairs and soon after, David joined them in the living room. When Neal looked up at him, he realized that he had never been alone with his in laws before. He also realized that they probably didn't have many positive memories of him. After all, they knew that he was the guy who had knocked up their under-age daughter who had then gone to jail because he had left her and supposedly ratted her out to the authorities.

David kept his eyes on Neal, wary but curious. Upstairs they still heard Emma and Henry talk.  
'Did they settle in?' Neal asked weakly, to disturb the awkward silence.  
'I believe so. Emma said, it felt very familiar.' David said and his voice broke a little. 'Why do you remember and she doesn't, Neal?'

Neal told them everything, how they had lived in New York for a year, in absolute peace. How Emma and he had both found great jobs and Henry had made friends in his new school. 'He even picked up playing soccer and he's gotten good. You would never believe how fast he is.'  
A small smile spread on Snow's pretty face. 'Henry and sports, who would have thought that?' she said, more to herself than the two men.  
'You should have stayed, Hook should have never made you come here.' David said, looking out the window for a moment with an unreadable expression.  
'Snow said that already. What the hell is going on?' The voices upstairs had fallen silent halfway through Neal's tale of New York.

Snow's expression darkened again. 'As I said, we don't remember what happened in that one year, but apparently, from what we can tell, there has been quite a lot of change.'  
'Like what?' Neal asked, impatiently.  
David sighed. 'Maybe we better show you.'

 

 -

 

'...and they lived happily ever after.' Belle said solemnly, closing the book slowly and putting it aside on the bedside table. 'Did you like the story?' she asked while she pulled the blanket up to Roland's chest.  
'Yes.' he said, and yawned. His eyes had already been half-shut when she had started to read to him, but Roland had insisted on her reading to him. Suddenly he asked: 'Belle? Will you stay with us now?'

She looked at the tiny boy in the huge bed, all by himself. She wondered whether he remembered his mother, or whether Roland just knew that something was missing in his life. Gently, she stroked through his hair and pushed a few, brown locks away from his forehead. 'Of course I will. I will read to you every night if you want me to. I have many books with lots and lots of stories in them.'

Roland smiled a little and slid deeper underneath the blanket.  
'I like that.'  
'Should I leave the light on?' she whispered, getting up from the side of the bed.  
'No, but can you leave the door open? Please?'  
'Of course. Good night Roland.' she walked out and left the door ajar. When she looked back, she saw Roland's tiny face lying on the dark pillow, the blanket rising ever so slightly with each deep breath he took. His eyes were closed and his lips slightly parted. He was already asleep.

From downstairs in the kitchen she heard men's voices talk, uncommonly quiet as if not to disturb little Roland. She had gotten used to the sounds of Robin's Merry Men in Rumple's old house.  
She walked downstairs and into the kitchen where Robin and Little John were playing cards by the kitchen counter. Between them was a small stack of matches. Instead of looking at the cards in their hands, Robin and John looked each other in the eye, intensely staring, until Little John dropped his cards in defeat.

'Fine, you win.'  
Robin grinned broadly and revealed, what Belle assumed, a pretty weak hand of cards.  
'Thief.' Little John fumed, but gave Robin a friendly slap on the back either way. When he walked past Belle, she noticed how Little John's ears became a little red. 'Hi Belle', he said, uncommonly shy and smiled at her.  
'Hey', she answered and walked into the kitchen. 'Roland's asleep. I should go now, it's late.' being out on the streets at night was not safe right now.

'Let me take you home.' Robin offered, already getting up.  
'No thank you. Really I'm fine.' Belle said, putting on her coat, concentrating on the buttons in order to escape Robin's stare. 'I'll see you tomorrow, okay? Bye', she said and practically stormed out before he could say anything more.  
'Belle!' he called after her but she ignored it. She knew he'd let her go.

It was not too far for her to go home. Storybrooke was larger than it seemed, even larger now after the new curse, but Rumple had made sure that he was always close to the centre of the town. She walked through the almost abandoned streets, glad she had picked trousers to wear and not her usual skirt.  
A figure walked past her, slowly and hunched over, with a hood pulled deep into their face. They held a small, metal containerand shook it. Coins rattled inside.

 

'Wait,' Belle said, rummaging through her pockets until she produced what little money she had on her, and put it into the box, 'for you.'  
'Thank you so much, m'Lady. As always, you are too kind.' the figure said with a strange, thin voice. They bowed deeply, and then walked onwards, disappearing behind Rumplestiltskin's shop.  
On her way home, the figures words stayed with her as she realized that she had heard them not too long ago from someone else.

 

 - 

 

Regina's hand hovered over the receiver of the telephone as she fought a battle with herself. She should call Snow. If Emma had come back, somehow, that was where she was and Regina was sure she would not leave Henry or Neal wherever they had gone to.

If Emma had wanted to talk to her though, she would have come to her, right?  
Defeated, Regina dropped her hand and leaned back in her chair, taking a deep breath. She hadn't even taken her coat off when she had stormed inside.  
She heaved herself up and slipped out of her uncomfortable shoes and her coat, then put them away. Regina walked through her spotless house into her likewise spotless kitchen. The silence was pressing down on her, like a heavy weight. She turned on the kitchen radio and found a channel that only played music without interrupting with annoying commentaries or obnoxious phone calls.

Without thinking about it, Regina collected all the necessary ingredients for pie, keeping her hands busy while her mind was wandering about.  
Past the kitchen window, she saw Belle walking, probably hurrying home and suddenly stopping in the middle of the street, staring into the air.  
'What is she doing?' Regina murmured when Belle slid both hands in the pockets of her jeans, searching for something.  
A burning smell from the stove forced Regina away from the window, to save the filing for her pie. When the wonderful smell of apple and cinnamon filled the kitchen a while later, Regina wondered whether she could use this to maybe come over to Snow, just for a visit. She could bring over the cake as a piece offering, couldn't she?

Then again, apple-pie probably wasn't the best way to do that, considering her past with both Snow and Emma. Last time she had given a self-made pastry, it was to cast a curse over Snow's daughter.

Regina searched through her cupboards until she produced chocolate chips and pecan-nuts. Cookies were better than pie, in this case. Henry had loved her cookies, especially when they were still warm. Regina looked at the clock and wondered whether he was still awake. He was almost thirteen now and was probably allowed to stay up longer, but tomorrow was a school day.  
She worried whether he was eating enough. She worried about his grades, he had needed some tutoring in his French class. She worried whether he slept enough, he had always sneaked a flash-light and a book underneath his blanket, reading till the sun was almost coming up again. She worried, worried, worried all the time, whether her son would even remember her.

 

 - 

 

Her apartment was warm and smelled of freshly made popcorn when she came in.  
'Hey Mulan, I'm back!' Belle called out when she dropped her keys in the small shell-shaped bowl by the door. Ariel had given it to her a few days ago and had added that she had 'actually paid for it', which was probably a weird thing to say.  
'I'm in the kitchen. I made dinner.' Mulan said happily and when Belle came closer she noticed a fantastic curry smell coming from the stove.

'I didn't know you could cook,' she said to her friend, who was stirring the yellow sauce in the frying pan.  
'I only know one or two dishes. Obviously, I am no marriage material, but I wanted to thank you. This was all I could come up with', Mulan confessed, smiling apologetically.  
'If it tastes half as good as it smells, it will be amazing.' Belle said and pulled out plates from the cupboard.  
'How's Robin?' Mulan asked while she shovelled large portions of food on their plates.  
'He's good. Everyone’s good.' Belle said.  
'And what about you?' Mulan asked, a little weary.  
'Me? I'm good. Really, very good.'  
'Sure you are.'

They ate in silence and Belle was painfully aware of her friend watching her intently, until she scraped the last grains of rice from her plate.

'Do you want more?' Mulan asked eagerly.  
'Sure, why not?' Belle devoured a second portion, realizing that she hadn't eaten this much in quite a while. 'Mulan? You are not, by any chance, trying to feed me up, right?'  
Mulan kept a stoic face but Belle noticed that the young woman's shoulders were rising up a little in a defensive gesture.  
'It's just-' she hesitated, 'you haven't eaten very well and Robin said that he had noticed that you had lost weight and we were a little concerned.'

Mulan looked her in the eye. 'I know you can take care of yourself, but I was just scared that you might get sick.'  
To prove a point, Belle took a piece of bread and swept up the rest of the delicious curry sauce with it form her plate. 'I'm eating. I'm good, trust me.'  
'Good is not the same thing as happy.' Mulan said quietly, but went ahead to clean the plates. Belle wondered how long her friends had worried about her, if warrior Mulan had decided to cook for her.

 

 -

 

Robin enjoyed the technology of this world a great deal. Most of all, he enjoyed showers, though.  
Not that he was fussy about dirt or bad odours. He had spent the majority of his life alongside a group of grown men that lived in the forest, right under the stars.

Being clean had its perks though, and he enjoyed the hot water that washed away the grime of long days in a strange world.  
The house of the Dark One was nothing but accommodating to their every need, really. It was even better than the palace had been, though not so big and generously built. Only Robin and Roland had a room to themselves, the others had to share with four or five people crammed in one room, but they didn't mind. It was warm and clean and better than anything they had dared to hope for.

From the room across the hallway, he heard Friar Tuck's snoring when Robin went to the small bedroom he shared with his son. He went to the side of the bed he know Roland would sleep on and listened carefully.

Only when he heard the regular, deep breaths of his child, Robin could relax. Only a little light came through the curtains into the room, and Robin saw a book of fairy tales lying on the bedside table, that could only belong to Belle. He felt his stomach drop – why exactly he didn't know - and turned away. Careful not to wake Roland, he walked to the window and looked outside. Maybe he should call her, he thought, to make sure she had arrived home safely. He did not like the thought of a young woman like her walking though this town all by herself at night. He knew she could look after herself, and he was aware that she knew far more about Storybrooke than he did, but he couldn't help it. He wanted to protect her, from whatever was out there.

Then again, maybe she was better off without him, he thought bitterly. After all, he hadn't been able to save Marianne.  
Her death had been all his fault, the fact that Roland was alone with him now, missing his mother everyday, was Robin's fault alone. A wave of guilt washed over him as he heard the tiny bundle underneath the blankets stir in his slumber, probably dreaming of a mother he would never see again.

He turned away from the window, never seeing the shadow of a hunch-backed figure stepping away from the trees they had hid in.

 

 -

  

'Sanctuary!'  
Belle lifted the blanket higher, cuddling closer to Mulan next to her, both of them staring at the screen of the television.  
'I wish the talking gargoyles were back, they were so funny.' Mulan said. She was too mesmerized by the events of the movie to even remember eating popcorn. 'Please tell me this movie has a happy ending.'  
Belle didn't tell but smiled to herself. She enjoyed watching movies with her friend. They were almost through with all the movies she had, not just the Disney ones.

A sudden, loud knock on the door startled the two women and they both turned their heads back to the front door.  
'Are you expecting someone?' Mulan asked quietly.  
'No', Belle said slowly. The knock came a again, one-two-three. This time it sounded like someone was trying to break the door down.  
'Should I get my sword?'  
'Do you have it with you?' Belle looked at her friend.  
'Of co-', the knock was so violent, the door shook in its frame and even the floor seemed to shake a little.  
'Get your sword, now.' Belle said, feeling cold fear creep into her. She tip-toed into the hallway to the door. She stretched out a hand towards the door-handle. Her fingers were cold and clammy. She didn't want to die standing in her small apartment, bare-foot and in her hand-me-down Snoopy pyjamas.

When Mulan came up behind her, actually holding her sword in both hands, ready for the strike, it gave Belle a small jolt of energy. The banging on the door started again.  
'Do it.' Mulan reassured her and Belle leaped forward and pulled open the door.

A gust of icy wind whirled around them.

There was no one. Belle tentatively stepped forward into the cold hallway. She looked around and couldn't find anyone, not even a trace of someone having been there seconds ago.  
Behind her, Mulan still hadn't lowered her blade when Belle closed the door again. A small gleam from the floor caught her eye when she stepped back and Belle pulled the door open once more and crouched down a little.  
An amulet was lying on her doormat. She picked it up an finally closed the door, leaning against it.  
'What is that?' Mulan asked, coming to her. They both stared at the pendant in Belle's hands.  
'It looks like a dream-catcher, maybe?' Belle asked.  
'No, I don't think so. I have never seen something like it.'

The amulet was woven from silky material, with small symbols in black and blue stitched into it. Belle felt goosebumps on her skin and a shiver running down her spine. 'I don't think this is something good.' she said quietly.  
Suddenly, Mulan snatched the amulet away and walked into the kitchen. Belle heard the window open and then close again, before her friend came back.

'Whatever it is, it's gone.' Mulan said reassuringly, pulling Belle gently back into the living room. 'Can you rewind the movie? I want to know what happens to the Gypsy girl now.'

 

 -

  

It was pitch black outside when they drove down the main road through the town.  
'Do you think Snow will be all right?' Neal asked, honestly concerned. His mother-in-law looked as if she was ready to deliver at any given moment.  
'She will be fine, Whale said it will be another four to six weeks.' David said, his tone clipped.  
Neal didn't like the icy atmosphere between the two of them.  
'So, what are you going to show me?'  
'You'll see.'

David drove slower than Neal deemed necessary, keeping an eye out on the street at all times. Soon there were no street lights around them any more to illuminate the road. Neal looked out the window, squinting.  
'I don't remember this street. Where are we?'  
David stopped the car in the middle of the road. 'See for yourself.'

Neal unbuckled his seatbelt and got out of the car. In the darkness he could make out the houses to both sides of the road, but they looked crooked and weird. David came to him, giving him a flash light. The first thing Neal saw when he clicked it on, was the familiar front of Gepetto's shop, which he had visited a few times after August had been turned back into a kid. He liked watching the boy and Gepetto work on all kinds of small, wooden devices that they could get to work again.

Only when Neal looked closer, he noticed that something wasn't quite right with the building. He lifted the flash light, looking up, where a huge tree was growing right through the roof. Large, thick branches were growing to all sides, piercing through the brick walls, not only of Gepetto's shop, but the houses to both sides of it as well. Neal turned, looking up and down the street.

Trees and wild plants had destroyed half the houses around them, their gigantic roots splitting the asphalt that lay in the dark.  
The Enchanted Forest was growing. It was growing inside Storybrooke.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so, so sorry for keeping you waiting like this.
> 
> If you are, by any chance, interested in reading a formal apology feel free to follow this link: http://quillinkandmuse.tumblr.com/post/91157672154/a-formal-apology
> 
> The story will take a different turn from now on, because I want to distance myself from the plot of the TV show. I really hope I won't disappoint you.  
> Should you have any questions, feel free to ask them. You can leave messages on my tumblr or comment on the story itself.


	5. Bleeding Through

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> On your left

Any story can be told with a 2B pencil and a piece of paper. Victor Frankenstein knew that, had written stories himself. Not in the way that the fairytales had been written, no, but his notes had told a story. How many notebooks had he filled, searching, longing desperately for answers?

To an outsider, his scriptures would have looked like the musings of a madman. His sketches would have seemed grotesque, the deranged visions of a psychopath.

But now they were all gone, lost with the rest of his studies. They were coming back to him, slowly, the memories of late nights, sitting hunched over books so old, so forbidden, no one had touched the pages in centuries. Every little detail he remembered, he jotted down now, with shaking hands.

'That's really good. I didn't know you could draw, Victor.'  
He looked up to see Ruby, a tray in her hands, her dark eyes trained on his crude pencil sketches.

'It's nothing, really,' he slammed the notebook shut. Ruby took a step back, her smile fading.

'I'm sorry. That was rude.'  
'Not at all,' he said quickly, 'I was just trying to recover some of the memories I've...left behind.'  
'I get that,' Ruby was quiet for a moment, before asking: 'Can I bring you anything else?'  
'Just the check, please. I've got to get back to the clinic.'

'Sure, I'll be right back.' The waitress turned away and he found himself staring after her.  
'Ruby?'  
'Yeah?' she turned back, mid-stride.

'It's just that, maybe, if you'd like to talk sometime-'  
'I get off at midnight,' she interrupted him, 'I could come by the clinic to bring you some late night coffee. Help you stay up and all.' Her cheeks flushed the slightest bit when she said it.

'Coffee is great. Perfect, actually.'  
'Great. That's great.'  
He left a twenty dollar bill on the table when he left and looked at Ruby when he shrugged on his coat. 'I'll see you at midnight then.'  
'Perfect,' Ruby smiled, her eyes a little brighter than usual.

-

'How long has this been happening?'  
'It started the day after we returned,' David watched as Neal walked up and down the street, directing the beam of his flashlight through the shattered windows of abandoned stores.  
'How could you let it get this far?' Gepettos store was beyond repair, more a pile of rubble than a building.

David's eyebrows shot up. 'You think we didn't try to stop it?' He leaned against his truck. 'We did whatever we could. We tried to cut the trees down, we tried to burn them when that didn't work. They only grew back faster and larger than before.'  
Neal huffed and examined the trees again.  
'Seems like the kind of magic my father would have worked.'

He despised the way his voice sounded when he said it. The memory of his father burned through him like acid.  
'Maybe, but Rumplestiltskin is gone,' David said, his voice not unkind.

'What about-?'  
'Regina hasn't even been able to make a daisy grow on the best of days, since our return. Her power is gone. As are everyone elses.'  
Neal clicked off the flashlight and came closer. 'What are you saying?'  
'There's no magic left in Storybrooke, not even the least bit. We couldn't recover even a speck of fairydust, either.'  
'No magic then, except for these trees, huh?' Neal's eyes narrowed and the two men stood in the darkness, thinking.  
'You didn't ask us to come here,' Neal finally said, his voice so quiet it was barely a whisper.  
'And tear my daughter from safety and happiness?' David looked defeated his eyes fixed on the pitch black, where a forest now grew.

These trees seemed so alien, so unlike anything they had ever seen in the Enchanted Forest. They had a darkness, a malice to them that was unlike anything they had faced so far. These woods did not belong here.

'What do you think is going on?' Neal asked, his voice a hushed whisper.

'I can't be sure. When I talked to Regina, she didn't have a clue either, but she said she'd try to look into it.'  
'Fine, but what do you _think_?'  
'I think,' David sighed deeply, rubbing through his already tousled hair, 'something went wrong when we came back. Maybe the spell or curse or whatever brought us here wasn't complete. Maybe it was just badly done.'

'A crooked spell?'  
'Possibly. There are very few skilled magicians out there and the truly greatest of them is dead now.' Rumplestiltskin had put centuries of work into the original curse.

'And what are we supposed to do?' Neal asked.  
David hesitated, his jawmuscles twitching as if he was chewing on his words. 'You take my...your family, and you go home.' Before Neal could interject, David lifted a hand to shut him up. 'I mean it, Neal. I need you to do this for me.'

David looked so much older when he said it. He seemed absolutely defeated.

'All of this, the curses and the struggles, I never wanted this for my daughter. I never wanted her to be in danger.' His frown deepened. 'When we were told that she'd be the saviour to break the curse, I was hopeful, but I was also blind. I was a fool.'  
'We all are,' Neal said quietly, and the corners of Davids mouth lifted the slightest bit, but his smile was limp.  
'I never even realized, never wanted to realize, that this one curse wasn't the end of it. Breaking it had just been the beginning of something much more horrible.' He looked around. 'This town has become a home, and I will find a way to save it. But that is not what Emma was brought into this world to do. I want my daughter to live a happy and safe live with someone who truly loves her.'

He eyed Neal, sighing. 'You left her, once. And I hate you for it.'  
'I hate myself for it, if that's any consolation.'  
'It isn't.' David said flatly, his voice stern. 'You hating yourself doesn't change anything. What I need from you is the confirmation that you learned from this.'  
'I did, I promise.'  
'A promise isn't enough, Baelfire.' David seemed so much like the stern father figure Neal had never had, it intimidated him. 'I need a guarantee that you won't leave my daughter hanging again. You can never betray her, ever, again.'  
'I won't. I love her.'

Davids face softened. 'I know you do.'  
'I never wanted to hurt her like this.'  
'I know that, too.'  
'But I did it anyway, and I'm sorry. If I could tell her that again, I would but I guess I'll just have to tell you and hope that she knows.'  
'I forgive you,' David said, calmly, 'but know this: my daughter is the greatest treasure in my life. All I want is her happiness and her safety. If you can give her that,' he put one hand on Neal's shoulder, shaking him a little, 'I will be honoured to call you my son in-law.'

Neal swallowed thickly, meeting Davids eyes. 'I'll protect her with my life.'  
'I know you will,' David let go of him and got up from the car. 'It's time you take them home. Don't look back Neal. We can't change the past.'

-

'I can't believe this is even real.' Emma put down her menu and looked around the diner. 'This is like a fairytale or something. I mean,' she pointed out the window where Archie and Gepetto were standing, while Pinoccio was playing with the dog, 'it's so picturesque.' Of course the town clock had to start chiming in that moment, just to top it off. 'What do you think, Henry?'  
Henry just shrugged, concentrating on his PSP. 'It's okay. Real quiet. When can we go home?'  
Neal sipped his coffee before he answered: 'Soon. I just gotta take care of a few things, then we can leave.'

Of course, David wanted them to go right now, or at least immeadiately after breakfast. But Neal needed to see Belle. He had to make sure that she was okay, she was family after all, for better or for worse.

'We'll hang out at Mary-Margarets and Davids place,' Emma said, slicing into her pancakes. 'They are so nice, why didn't you ever tell me about them?'  
'I guess the three of us just went their own way, at some point. Then there's you and Henry in my life and I just never thought about them again.' That was as close to the truth as he could get.  
'Out of mind, out of sight.' Their eyes met for a moment and Emma reached across the table, taking his hand in hers. 'Not blaming you. I'm just saying that - it's not like you.'

If only she knew.

-

Storybrookes library was rarely visited. Which was a shame. Between the countless dusty books, the truth was hiding from plain sight.

Neal pulled open the doors, letting in the grey morning light. Emma and Henry were still in the diner and would then be picked up by Snow, with whom Neal assumed they were safest. Just the fact that he had to think about their lives in these terms – safe or in danger – made him angry. It was the odd kind of sad anger that gnawed on you until it made you sick.

'Belle?' his reflexes told him not to shout in a library, but of course there was no one here he could disturb. He heard a rustle in the far back and walked down through rows of stuffed shelves. 'Belle.'  
He was just about to round the corner of the shelve where the noise came from when he heard heels clicking on the floor behind him.

'Baelfire!' He turned and was pulled into a tight hug. He wrapped his arms around Belle's tiny frame. It was weird, hugging her like this. They barely knew eachother and all he really knew was that she'd loved his father, truly and that she also liked books. Still, it felt like they were family.

After a moment, she released him, seemingly becoming embarrassed. 'You're here. I can't believe you're here.' She held him an arms length away and looked him up and down. 'How? And why?'

He noticed that she looked thinner, her face gaunt. It was frightening to know that his fathers death had not just affected him, that it could have a lasting effect on the woman the dark one had truly loved.

'It's a long story,' he said, 'but if you want to hear it, I'll tell you.'  
'Of course.'  
They sat down behind the counter where two very squeaky office chairs were situated, behind an ancient computer.

He told her about Hook because it seemed the easiest thing to start with, but of course, he trailed off. Instead he began talking about his life in New York, his family, about the connections he'd made with people at work, about how Henry was getting into sports and about how often he hang out with people from his team now.  
'I think he has a girlfriend, or at least he has a crush on someone. He's in his room, a lot lately.'  
Belle was smiling. 'Henry is growing up. It's so weird to think about that. Probably because there hasn't been a lot of growing going on in the past thirty years of my life,' her voice became more quiet with every word.

Neal touched her shoulder gently. 'It'll get better. It has to.'  
It had gotten better for him, before had Hook arrived.

'I could tell you the same thing,' Belle answered, gently. 'I know it's hard. Now that you have to carry this load with you. But it doesn't have to be like this. You can leave this town and these memories behind. For all Emma knows, the two of you have been together for the past thirteen years.'  
'Yeah. Only that it's a lie. I abandoned her, like my father abandoned me.'  
There was an indescribable emotion in Belle's eyes when he said it and she put her arms around her middle, breathing deeply. 'You're not your father, Bae. He let you go because he was scared, you let Emma go because-'  
'I was scared. August reminds me of where I came from and two seconds later I run like a coward.'  
'I'm sure it wasn't like that.'

His memory of that night was so overshadowed now, by the false memory of what should have happened. He met August and told him to go to hell. He stood up to him, told him he'd never let Emma go. Fuck destiny.  
'What about you? He sent you away because he was scared, too.'  
Belle smiled sadly, shrugging slightly. 'I never held it against him, Bae. Fear is human and to conquer it is beyond human.' She thought for a moment, then she added: 'It gave me hope, really. Even this monster that the dark one seemed to be, was really just a person deep inside. I couldn't appeal to a curse. I could help a human being to become stronger.'  
'And you did,' Neal put an arm around Belle and they hugged again. 'I never thanked you, properly. Now I don't know how to make up for all the things you went through.'  
When Belle pulled away he could see tears shimmering in her eyes. She looked down and shook her head, a very shaky smile on her lips.  
'There's no need to make up anything to me. Just be-' she wiped her eyes with one hand, 'just be deliriously happy, okay? As long as you're happy, it was all worth it.'

It was painful to look at her. He couldn't remember any life he'd lived where he'd seen someone so broken. Yet, at the same time, he could see her strength. An iron core beneath a delicate layer of porcelain. He could imagine, that it had been exactly this strength that his father had fallen in love with.

'I'll make you a deal,' he said quietly, looking around the library, 'I'll be so insanely happy that no one will ever want to hear a word about it again, if you try to find your happiness as well.'  
'Bae-'  
'No, I mean it. You loved my father. He loved you. I'm pretty sure you are the only person he ever truly loved, apart from me.' It was a little sad to know that Rumplestiltskin had never loved his mother like this, but maybe that was just what it had to be. 'But this can't be it for you. You're young Belle, really young. I'm pretty sure that you're biologically younger than me.'  
Belle laughed through her tears and wiped at her eyes once more. 'I don't know if I can do this again.'  
'That's okay, I'm sure you can and maybe that's enough for now.' He stroked her back, hoping it would give her some sort of comfort. 'Love will find you. It found me, and trust me, it was a big surprise.'  
After all, Emma had woken him up when she'd stolen his stolen car. Talk about surprises!

'And I'm not saying that you have to be married with a kid by this time next year. All I need to know is,' he looked into her eyes when she finally looked up, 'I need to know that you're not all alone, and unhappy and desperate. Like my father was.'

'You want me to have purpose.'  
'Basically, yes.'  
Belle looked around the library, still with silent tears rolling down her cheeks. 'Your father gave me this library. It's all I've ever dreamed of.'  
'I guess that's why he gave it to you in the first place.'  
It was an astoundingly thoughtful gift. Neal felt, that maybe he hadn't known his father at all, really, when he was so surprised by this act of kindness.

'I can't believe he's really gone. Every day when I wake up, I think that maybe this will be the day he returns.'  
'It would be very much like him, magically pulling himself out of some kind of hat. Like a rabbit.'  
Belle made a little chocking noise, between sob and laugh.

'I miss him so much.' She leaned her head against Neal's shoulder and he could feel how her body shook with every little sob.  
'So do I,' he said quietly. 'I miss him, too.'

-

'So, what are your plans for the day?' Neal and Belle were walking down some back streets through the town. She liked the paths that led them through muddy grounds.  
The air was so cold, they could see their breath, like crystals.

'I'll try to fix up the pawn shop, see what I can recover from it and what I really need to hide.'  
The cold air had turned Belle's button nose a little red at the tip. Or maybe it had been all the crying. Suddenly she stopped in her tracks. 'I guess, it's your shop now, actually. Just like the house.'  
She had let Robin and his men sleep in the house without asking permission. Naturally, she couldn't have asked permission, because she couldn't talk to Neal but still. She felt like she had been rude.  
'No, please, they're yours. Even if I'd plan to stay here, I wouldn't want them.' Neal looked ucomfortable. 'You'll do a better job of taking care of the house and the shop than I could ever hope to do.'  
'But-'  
'He would've wanted you to have it. You can do whatever you want with it, sell both or keep just the house, whatever makes you happy.'

'Are you sure?'  
'Extremely, very sure.'

Belle smiled and they stopped by the back entrance of the store. She hadn't even fully realized that she had led them here.

'Thank you,' she said softly.  
'No reason to thank me. We're family.'  
They hugged again, one last time. There had been a lot of hugging that day and it did make her feel better. Neal was very good at hugs.

'Be happy, Baelfire.'  
'Deliriously happy,' he corrected, smiling.  
'Deliriously happy.'

When he walked away from her, towards the street, she couldn't help but think, that things would really change from now on.

-

'Well, however long you were gone,' Mulan opened the door to the shop wide to let in fresh air, 'it seems that no one stayed behind to dust.'  
Belle sneezed once, twice, three times and wiped her eyes on her sleeve. 'I'm sorry, I shouldn't have asked you to help. This is a nightmare,' she apologized, and let the rag she had used, drop into an empty bucket. 'I'll get some water, maybe that will help.'  
She filled the bucket in the backroom of the Pawnshop, and though the water was icy cold, Belle hoped it would keep the dust under control.

She had called Mulan only half an hour earlier to ask whether she could help take care of the shop. Belle didn't know how much would be left of Rumplestiltskin's treasures.

As it turned out, _everything_ was left. Belle had found an inventory and had roughly estimated that there were 1200 items in the shop that she had to take a look at. So far, she had dusted off a few stacks of books of questionable nature, a glass mobile with little unicorns on it, candles of all colours that were painted with symbols that seemed very odd (Belle decided to lock them away as soon as possible so no one would ever get the idea to light one of those), a ship in a bottle and the cash register. Not that she needed it, no one was going to buy something anytime soon, she was sure.

'Let me help you with that,' Mulan said hurriedly, coming over to her and taking the heavy bucket.

'Thank you,' Belle smiled at her friend and together they cleaned the many items on various carved tables and shelves, careful not to cause any damage to the materials.

'The Dark One sure had many great things in here,' Mulan sounded impressed, lifting a heavy block of polished jade to her eyes to examine it. Engraved into it were delicate chinese symbols that Belle could not read yet.  
'Do you know what it means?' Belle asked curiously, watching her friend touch the engravings with caution in her eyes.

'Oh yes. This is a curse, a very old one. I wonder where he got this. Something like this,' she explained, 'was put on the graves of murderers and other people who had shamed and dishonoured their families. It is supposed to keep their souls in this world until they are brought to hell.' Mulan's eyes narrowed. 'Something like this, makes it impossible for the soul to go on, to the next world.'

Belle took it from her and eyed it, suspiciously. 'So this is something like a magic flagstone?'  
Mulan shrugged. 'I guess.'  
They both stared at it until Belle walked to the counter and put it down. 'I think we'll better lock that one away, then.'

She made a tick next to 'cursed stone', 'candle one (red)' and 'candle eight (black)' on her list and opened the vault behind the counter to lock them away. 'I wonder where cursed candle two, three and four got to,' she murmured, more to herself, while ticking off the others as well.  
'Wow, look at this!' Mulan sounded excited. 'I think this is one of the seals of Vertania!'  
She held in her hands, what looked like a polished, wooden coin about the size of a saucer. 'That's...great?' She had honestly never heard of a thing like that.  
'Well, no, it's not great. It's really dangerous, should it get into contact with the other two, but it will be impossible to find even one, let alone both,' Mulan reassured her.  
'I get the feeling this safe won't be big enough to lock all the dangerous items away.'

Belle sighed and closed the heavy metal door.  
Mulan carefully put the seal back into the case she had found it in and closed it, firmly. 'Rumplestiltskin didn't lock these things away and they never got stolen. If he could do it, you'll be able to do it better.'

They kept cleaning, and about every ten minutes, Mulan exclaimed her delight about one artifact or the other. Rumplestiltskin had collected so many things, so many terrible, dangerous things. Maybe he had known how to control them, but Belle wasn't as confident as Mulan was, when it came to her abilities to do the same. Dark magic was something Belle had steered clear of for so long. She had never even thought to read about it.

'...can force any soul, living or dead to stay where it is. Truly fascinating and so, so rare. I've only ever seen one in person and that was in the Emperors private gallery.'  
'Huh?' Belle looked up from her list again.  
'The dagger of obedience.' Mulan showed it to her. It brought to mind memories of the dark ones dagger, only that there was no name on it and that the blade was less wavy, and of such a light silver, it seemed to glow almost white.  
'How is it you know all these things?'  
Mulan shrugged. She seemed so much smaller without her armour. 'I travelled a lot, even after being forced out of the chinese army.'

They kept working quietly until Belle said: 'Maybe you should have it. The shop, I mean.'  
She met Mulan's incredulous stare. 'I mean, you could work here and make sure that no one does any, well, nefarious things with any of these objects.'

'You want me to own a shop?' Mulan seemed uncomfortable. 'It's yours. You own it.'  
'Technically, Rumple owns it.' Which meant that _technically_ technically no one owned it. 'I need someone who actually knows what they are working with.'  
'Then why _me,_ of all people?' Mulan twisted the dusty dishrag in her hands nervously.  
'Because you can tell me the name and history of almost every item in here. I don't think anyone else could.' Certainly not with that much enthusiasm.  
'I don't know, Belle. It's your shop.'  
'The library is my shop. This is,' she hesitated, 'a bad memory. Maybe you can turn this place into something better.'

Mulan nodded slowly, looking around. There was longing in her eyes, the kind of innocent need for adventure and discovery Belle only felt when she opened a new book.  
'I think I could like this. Having my own store. Working with all these artifacts.' Mulan traced the shape of an old candelabra absentmindedly and smiled wistfully at her friend. 'I don't want to steal from you, though.'  
'It's not stealing if it's a gift,' Belle said gently.  
Rumple had once given her a library. Now she could give Mulan something, to expand her world, give her a purpose.  
'A gift,' Mulan echoed, 'I've never gotten a gift before, from anyone.'  
'Well,' Belle took the keys from her pocket and dropped them in her friends hand, 'I'm glad I can be the first.'

-

Regina had become a notorious window-starer. Sometimes, in her weakest moments, she had imagined herself old and wrinkly, sitting by a window and watching the neighbours, with a notepad in hand to write down any misdemeanours. That could be fun. Emma probably would have laughed about it.

Now she was sitting by the window, still young and beautiful, no notepad in hand because she didn't want to write anything down. Not that there were many wrong-doers in Storybrooke in the first place, but she wouldn't have wanted them punished even if there had been.

She had punished so many people for so long and where had it gotten her? They were all out there, sitting together at Grannys Diner, eating and drinking and joking and laughing.  
And she was alone.

Emma had always been the one trying to invite her to some meet up or other but Regina had rarely gone. It wasn't easy to get out of your own skin.

Ealier that day, she had gone up to Henry's room for the first time since they had returned. She didn't know what exactly she had expected to happen, all things considered. In the end, she had sat down on his bed and just made an effort to remember what it had been like, what it had felt like to love her son. What it had felt like to be loved by him.  
She remembered all the birthday cards he had hand crafted for her in school. The Valentines day notes. At the bottom, it had always said the same thing.  
_I love you very much, your: Henry._ And then a clumsily drawn heart.

The pain of her loss was so sudden and so violent, for a moment she thought it might just tear her apart. Was that the feeling you had when someone ripped your heart right out of your chest and crushed it? If so, she felt deeply sorry for everyone she had ever submitted to this kind of horror.

She hadn't been able to stay in the room much longer and had fled to her livingroom, to stare, stare, stare out of her windows like an old lady, full of regrets.

She remembered how someone had once told her, 'we all make our own hell'. How true. She had no one to blame but herself and she knew it and that was new.  
Before, she had always managed to blame someone. Her mother or Snow or even Gold. Now she was stuck with the truth and it was the gaping pit of pain and suffering she had so long tried to tip-toe around.

She sat up a little when she finally saw them again. Emma, her arm around Henry. They both looked so happy. Every harsh line around Emma's mouth had smoothed, she seemed to glow with happiness, content. Henry said something, pulling that doubtful but amused face that he always had shown when it was time for another adventure with his birth mother. It had always been Emma who had gotten it out of him, never her.

She could imagine their conversation. What a weird place this was, how long they would stay here for, why they had come here in the first place.

They hadn't even tried to visit her, which meant that they didn't remember. Emma would have never kept Henry from her. At least, not after all that had happened between them in recent times.

She watched as the duo was met by Snow White, who had wrapped herself in at least two winter coats. In combination with her huge pregnancy belly, the outcome was almost comical to look at.

Regina felt a pang of guilt wash over her, when she realized, that Snow had lost her daughter, again. How many times was that now? And how often had it been Regina's fault?  
Still, Snow was out there, with her husband, smiling and living and being one of the good guys. Maybe that was all there was to it, to being good? Moving on and going strong even when you really didn't feel like it.

Regina wanted nothing more than be one of the good guys. To be one of them, to move on.

She took a deep breath and stood up from her chair, fluffed her hair a little and strode towards the door, trying to find the composure she needed to do what had to be done. She shrugged on her coat, wrapped her silk scarf around her neck and didn't even bother to check herself in the mirror.

  


When she touched the doorhandle, the floor began to shake and tremble with violence and out on the street, the pavement began to crack.

-

The earthquake was over as soon as it had happened, and everyone out on the streets, in the stores, just cowered under counters and tables for a second longer, waiting for the other shoe to drop. Every car alarm was going off in an annoying crescendo of noise.

'Oh my god! Are you okay?' Emma helped up Mary-Margaret, who had fallen to her knees. They had stood before the diner, with no place to hide.

Snow put both hands on her belly, looking around anxiously. 'Yes. Yes, I'm fine, I think.'  
'Are you sure? You took quite the fall.'  
Henry stood next to her, cautiously watching something across the street, before turning to his mother. 'Maybe we should go to the hospital.'  
'No, really, I'm fine. Don't worry.' Snow smiled shakily and tried to pat off her pants. 'That was very graceful.' Her knees had wet spots where she had landed.  
'Do you need to go home?' Emma asked quietly. Behind them the entrance to the Diner opened and Granny came out, crossbow in hand. 'What the hell was that?!'  
Emma moved in front of Snow, shielding her with her body. 'Whoah Lady, put that thing down!'

Granny just huffed, and pushed her aside. 'I've been working this bow before you were even a twinkle in your daddys eyes, girly.' She grabbed Snow's upper arm to steady her. 'What is going on?'

'I don't know, but I doubt it's good.'  
She vividly remembered one other time where this had happened. The day where the mines had almost collapsed on Henry and Archie.

'Does this happen a lot here?' Emma asked next to her, still staring intently at the crossbow in Grannys hands.  
'It seems to become a habit,' the old woman grumbled. 'Let's get you kids inside, before something worse happens.'  
Inside the diner, everyone was talking, shouting anxiously. Leroy and the other dwarves were huddled all in one booth, whispering among themselves, but looking up when Snow came in. Leroy immediately wedged himself out of the booth, past Sneezy, and pulled Snow into a hug. 'Thank god you're all right. What the hell is happening? Why is it happening? Why now?'  
'I don't know.' Snow seemed disoriented, her face pale. 'I don't like this.'  
Emma frowned. 'It's just an earthquake, it'll be okay.'  
The car alarms were still blaring outside, drowing out the sound of the bell above the door chiming when Regina came in. 'Is anyone hurt?' Her cheeks were flushed and her eyes bright.  
'I don't think so. It wasn't a very big earthquake, it was just quite sudden,' Snow stroked her belly still looking shell-shocked.  
'Sudden indeed,' Regina frowned and looked outside. 'I better investigate this. Do you need to go to the hospital? I can call ahead, should the phone lines be working.'

'Since when are you so maternal?' Granny asked, smirking a little. Regina bristled.

'As acting Mayor of this town, every citizens well-being is my bussiness and-'

'Oh god!' Snow was doubling over, breathing heavily. 'Something is wrong,' a dark stain was forming on her pants, turning the blue fabric the oddest shade of crimson.  
Regina's eyes widened in shock, but Emma was quick to act. 'How far is it to the hospital?'  
'O-..only a few blocks,' beads of sweat were forming on Snow's pale skin and she started to shake.  
'I'll drive. Henry, maybe you should-'  
'I'll stay here. I hate hospitals.'  
Emma looked like she wanted to argue, but a sob from Snow made her reconsider. 'I want you to stay here until your father picks you up, got it?'  
Without waiting for an answer, she helped Snow walk to the car, Regina following suit. 'I will call David, you two get to the hospital right away,' she said sharply. Doing something, having a goal, cleared her head. 'Don't worry about red lights.'  
'Never do,' Emma quipped, opening the car. 'God, I wish these alarms would stop.'  
Regina frowned. 'Me too.'  
And all at once, they did.

  


The silence was almost more deafening than the noise had been, because now all they could hear was Snow's laboured breathing until Emma slammed the car door shut. 'Cool trick. Gotta go now.'  
'Yes, please, Miss Swan.'  
'Excuse me?'  
'Nothing. Go.'  
Emma looked back when she started the car, but only for a second, then she sped off towards the hospital.

'She's right, you know? That was a cool trick.'  
Regina turned to see Henry standing behind her, his hands buried in his coat pockets.  
'I don't think I know what you're talking about.' Her heart was in her throat, pounding rapidly.

'I think you do. Mom.'

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> http://quillinkandmuse.tumblr.com/post/150547713744/a-hiatus-of-sherlockian-proportions-or-another


	6. And then there were none

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They say anything that can go wrong, will go wrong. They are uncharacteristically right.

The library was a mess after the earthquake. Not that Belle minded very much, it was a good opportunity to redo the entire cataloging system. Apart from that, she had added books and probably lost a few in-between world changes. The files on the extremely old computer at the front desk (Windows 95? Really?) were useless anyway since they were incomplete.  
Most shelves had tipped and spilled all books on the floor, which broke Belles bibliophile heart. Some of the books spines had given in and scattered loose pages on the ground like very big, very sad snowflakes.

In the end, Belle decided that it was easiest to open the few windows that hadn't been boarded up, to collect all the books and but them in one corner of the room and to push all shelves in the other corner. That way she could clean the dusty floors for once.

By the time she had managed to get most of the books in one corner, Belle was a sweaty mess, her hair clinging to the dust in the air. She put it up in a bun on top of her head, feeling a few damp hairs at the base of her neck. She mentally congratulated herself on wearing leggings and a top for this particular activity, because any of her dresses would have been ruined.

The shelves were much more difficult to move than the books. Though they were mostly made from some kind of lightweight metal, they didn't just slide across the floor. Belle tried placing dishrags underneath each corner of a shelf to move it, but it didn't work.

She heard the front door open and huffed, blowing a strand of hair off her face. 'I'm really sorry, but we're closed today,' she walked towards the entrance and stopped dead in her tracks once she saw her visitor. 'Robin...'

He looked good. Very good. It wasn't a new thought, but now Belle let herself think about Robin like that for the first time. A good looking hunk of a guy who liked her. And Robin Hood was, without a doubt, a good guy, a good man.

'I wanted to check on you. I heard odd noises coming from in here,' he said, the corners of his mouth twitching a little when he looked at Belles disheveled form. 'Do you need assistance with anything?'

She blamed the sudden heat in her cheeks on exhaustion and shrugged way too eagerly casual. "I'm a strong independent woman."

"I know," Robin's sly grin was really quite dashing, "but even strong, independent women can throw out their backs."  
Belle huffed and looked to the fallen shelves on the floor. "Fine. I need to move them to the left corner so I can sweep the floors."  
"That shouldn't be a problem." Robin shrugged off his leather jacket, rolled up the sleeves of his henley and got to work. Between the two of them, they managed to move all the furniture to one corner of the room within the hour. Belle collapsed on one of the shaky chairs by the desk and took a deep breath.

"Thank you. I couldn't have done this all by myself."  
Robin pushed his slightly sweaty hair back and leaned against the counter by the entrance. "Anything for you, Belle."  
His earnest tone always gave her this nervous flutter in her stomach.  
"If I can ever do anything for you..." she trailed off.  
Robin looked at her, suddenly seeming less confident. "You've already done more than I could ever ask for. I won't insult you by demanding more."  
"You wouldn't demand. That would be very unlike you."  
"I already did," now he seemed almost ashamed, "I overstepped your bounds and I didn't apologize."  
Belle frowned at that. "What do you mean?"  
"In the forest, the other day. When I tried to kiss you."  
"You..did?" she almost slipped off her chair for literally no other reason than sheer embarrassment. No table could hide her shame though.

Robin's eyebrows shot up. "I thought that's why things have been a little off between us."  
"Off? No. No, not at all. Everything's great!" Belle gestured enthusiastically towards the shelves, "you helped me out like any good friend would. Everything's fine."

Robin opened his mouth, shut it again. He seemed to fight an inner battle before he, finally, forced a smile. "I'll get you some lunch them before you continue. You must be starving."  
Her stomach was too knotted up to fit any food in, but Belle nodded bravely. "That's so sweet of you."  
"It's the least I can do." Robin grabbed his jacket and walked out, not exactly fleeing from her, but also not making an effort to slow down.

Belle looked after him, felt her shoulders slumping a little.  
She'd never wanted to be scared of anything. Especially not love.  
But she wasn't ready, yet.  
Looking at Robin, still felt too much like betrayal. And that just wasn't good enough.

-

"Oh god. Oh god, this can't be happening..." Snow tried to breathe slowly, staring at the ceiling of her bland hospital room. She was sweating profusely, out of sheer terror. She couldn't lose this baby. Not after everything that had happened. This couldn't be the finale to her, so far, painful-bordering-on-unbearable year.  
"Okay, you really need to relax."

The voice of her daughter made Snow's heart jump whenever she heard it. Who would've thought she'd ever be so lucky to see her again?

Emma took one of Snow's hands between hers, a warming, familiar touch. She'd been sitting next to the hospital bed ever since Snow had slipped beneath the thing covers, only wearing a pink hospital gown.  
"You'll be fine."

"How do you know?" Snow tried to breathe deeply, even though her lungs felt like they would burst.  
"Because I believe that good things happen to good people."  
"Maybe I'm not good people."  
Emma huffed. "Yes you are, now calm down."  
"Bossy much?" Snow pulled a face, but there was a warm glow in her again. She'd had so little time with her daughter, but this felt like before the curse had been broken, back when they'd been friends.

Dr. Whale came in just a few moments later, and though he didn't smile, he also didn't look worried.  
"I won't risk you getting more nervous by letting you wait: your baby is fine." He smiled when Snow fell back into her pillows with a relieved sigh. "Thank you.." she whispered quietly, more to herself than to the doctor.

"Now, I'm going to have to put you on bedrest for the next few days. The last thing you need now is more stress. No grand adventures for you." Dr. Whale warned, gently mocking.  
"Bedrest? How long?"  
"Preferably until the birth. It won't be much longer."  
Snow's eyes widened. "No. I can't sit in bed all day. I'll go crazy."  
Emma chuckled. "Maybe you can keep busy with novels and board games."  
"You can and you will. Doctors orders."

Whale took her file and made a few notes. "We'll admit you overnight, just to keep an eye on you, and tomorrow your husband can take you home." He looked up, meeting Snow's eyes. "And then I want you to take it real slow until the baby comes. You may leave the bed to use the toilet, and that's it."

"Oh god," Snow sighed deeply, "fine. Maybe I can catch some sleep before the baby keeps us up non-stop."  
Emma patted Snow's hand gently. "I'll bring you some Grisham books."

-

The cemetery was a very peaceful place, a little further from the town's center. Belle had come here a lot, planting flowers on a grave marked with Rumplestiltskin's name. Of course, he wasn't in it.  
Still, it provided solace.

Belles hands automatically patted the soft soil around the roots of the wild rose bushes, testing whether it was still moist enough.

She knelt on a plastic shopping bag, to spare her clothes from getting dirty. Belle had changed into a blue dress and tights, before coming here. She didn't know why she thought it was important what she looked like. No one saw her here.  
"I'm cleaning the library," she said quietly, "the earthquake shook everything up, so I might as well start over." She pulled out a few weeds from the grave. "Robin helped me move the shelves."

She leaned back on her heels and looked at the simple marble marker. The roses were beginning to grow around it, framing Rumple's name.

"He brought me something for lunch after. He's...very thoughtful." Her fingers traced each engraved letter slowly. The marble had warmed up in the sun. "I'm glad you spared him, back in the day."

She could almost imagine rumple being with her. She could imagine the sadness in his eyes and it nearly made her recoil from her own thoughts.

"I miss you so much. I really do," she wiped her eyes quickly, "but sometimes I feel like I've spent more time missing you, than actually being with you."

Her voice was shaking precariously.

"Neal made me promise that I would try to be happy. I don't think that I can only be happy with a man in my life. That would be sad." She rested her hand on top of the gravestone, waiting for something, whatever that was.  
"But I know, that I won't be content like this. Mourning you and never moving on." Her hand dropped into her lap and Belle swallowed thickly. "I wish I knew what to do."

A light breeze blew a few loose strands of hair into Belles' face and she quickly tucking them behind her ears. "You are my true love. Were." She didn't let the tears fall, wiped them away before they even touched her cheeks. 'So maybe you can forgive me, and then I can forgive myself. That'd be nice.' 

Her hands were shaking when she took a small object out of her purse.  
She placed the chipped cup inside the shallow hole she had created and gently pushed more soil on top of it.  
'I'll be back soon."

She heaved herself off the ground, folded and packed the plastic bag and stored it again in her purse before she turned towards the path that led off the cemetery.

It was difficult not to look back. She knew that there was nothing to see.

 

Belle was deep in thought and just let her feet carry her for a few minutes, not caring where she walked.  
The path led her towards the forest, where the larger family graves stood. The one that had once hidden Regina's vault, had crumbled to dust. Maybe there was nothing to hide anymore.

An almost invisible path, one that obviously hadn't been trodden for the longest time, led to a large willow. Belle had never seen this one before, but then she rarely walked by here.

Something drew her to it, and after a quick look over her shoulder, she walked down the narrow path. Weeds snagged on her sheer tights, but Belle ignored them.

The branches of the willow reached the ground, hid whatever was behind them like a thick canvas.  
Belle gently pushed them aside and stopped in her tracks. Right in front of her was a gravestone, larger than any she'd seen before.

A statue of a hunched figure stood, looking down at a large rectangular stone. the figures face was hidden by a cloak. That wasn't what made Belle freeze in her tracks though. On top of the gravestone, cut into the rough rock, were two skeletons. One lay peaceful, their hands crossed over their chest, the other was curled around it, like the last embrace for eternity.  
The second skeleton seemed deformed, it's spine misshapen. Around one of its skeletal hands, a necklace was wrapped, spun from rough wool.  
Belle had seen it before.  
"Shh...", a voice behind her hissed, when suddenly a hand closed over her mouth.

-

Regina had always regretted tearing down Henry's castle by the shore. It would have been a nice place to visit once they had come back, after losing her son so suddenly.  
Now though, she was walking down the beach with her son, side by side.

"Tell me what happened, Henry."  
"It's really complicated. Do you really need to know how I came here? Isn't it enough that I'm here?"  
She didn't like how defensive he sounded, how Henry had pulled his shoulders up to his ears, how he had buried his hands in the pockets of his windbreaker.  
She stopped in her tracks.

"I don't care if I need to know, I just want to. So, please."  
Henry hesitated and drew shapes in the sand with the tip of his shoe. "A few days ago, someone came by our apartment in New York. Mom didn't mind, but I could see that my dad was stressed out about it."

It stung surprisingly little to hear Henry say 'mom' and 'dad'. It just hurt that she couldn't be part of that family.  
"I overheard him wanting to meet with the guy."

"Overheard?" Regina's brows pulled up automatically. Henry had the decency to blush a little.  
'"I can't help it if I happen to be right next to them, with my door open."

She wanted to pull him into a hug like she always had, before.  
He was so much taller now. How could her little boy have grown up so fast in only a year?  
"So you followed Neal to the meeting?"

"Kind of," Henry sat down on a bench, "I was worried he would notice me so I hid nearby. I couldn't hear what he and Hook were saying, but I saw Hook giving him a bottle."  
"A potion bottle?" Regina asked, sitting down next to him.

Henry nodded slowly.  
"What happened then?"  
"Dad didn't immediately drink it. I don't think he trusted Hook."  
"Smart man," Regina knew she hadn't given Hook any potion, so how had he gotten to it? It was hardly store-bought.  
"Eventually he did drink some of it. Then he suddenly seemed really sad."  
"Bad memories can do that to you," she said quietly.

"The next morning, when I came home, I took the potion out of his jacket before he and Mom woke up. I just wanted to see what it was, I didn't know it was a magic potion." Henry pulled a weird face as if the simple notion of magic was a crazy concept. "Actually I thought it might just be..you know. Alcohol."

"You drink alcohol? Henry, you're too young for this!" Motherly outrage got an immediate hold of her.  
"I don't drink alcohol. Well, once I tried a beer when I stayed at my friend's place."  
"How on earth did you get it?"  
"We stole it from his dad's mini-fridge." Henry's shoulders slumped even more. "It tasted really bitter so we threw it out and had Sprite instead."  
"Sugar isn't much better than alcohol," she chastised, only half serious.  
"Moooom..." Henry sighed. "Focus. Potion."  
"Focusing for now," Regina warned him, glowing when she heard him call her 'mom' again.

"I took a sip, and everything came back to me. It didn't feel good, it still doesn't. It's like I can't remember anything right anymore. I'm not sure what really happened and what didn't."

That must have been what everyone in Storybrooke had felt, once the curse had been lifted.

"I'm very sorry, Henry, I didn't mean for you to ever go through this."  
"I know." Henry gently bumped his shoulder against hers, smiling lightly. "You did really good. That's why I threw the potion out of the window before Emma could drink from it."  
"You did what?"

"I threw it away. Emma can't know that our lives aren't real. She's so happy and she's with dad and everything is working out great! I really like school now and I'm on the soccer team and I have so many friends. We have waffle Sundays."  
Well, if that wasn't pure Henry. "Sweety, it isn't real. And you and your father know this now. Things will change, even if you don't want, or mean, for them to."

Henry dug the tips of his shoes into the sand, staring at the ground intently. "It doesn't have to. If we just go back, we can still be happy."

"Oh Henry," she put an arm around her son and hugged him tightly. "Emma is strong. She should have made this decision for herself."

"She wouldn't be happy anymore. "  
"It would be hard, you're right. But this isn't fair to Emma."  
"How is this fair to anyone? I didn't get to see you for over a year," Henry sounded distressed. "Can't you make us forget again? Please."

"I don't have any magic, Henry. I can't help you."  
She pushed his hair from Henry's forehead and looked into his sad eyes. "I should talk to your father. Maybe we can come up with something."

Neal was inventive, just like Emma. "If all else fails, maybe we can just tell her the truth. You made her believe the first time, it might work again."

"But I had my book then. remember, the storybook?"  
Regina nodded slowly. "Do you have any idea where the book might be?"  
"No," Henry looked out at the gray sea, thinking. "I wouldn't even know where to look."  
"We will figure something out."

Regina got up, holding her hand out to her son. "Come, we'll find your father and talk." She had never really had an earnest talk with the father of her son. Maybe it was about time.

-

Neal had called his son's cellphone to pick him up, and Henry had told him to come to the mayor's house. That should have been the first hint that something was off.

Looking back at it, Neal wasn't too surprised, when he realized, that Henry knew about, well, everything. He was his kid after all.  
Henry lounged in his old room, playing on his PSP again, while Neal was sitting at Regina Mills kitchen counter, drinking coffee.  
"You know..when your wife," she put some emphasis on the last word, "first came here, bringing back my prodigal son, I asked her whether I had to worry about Henry's father ever being an issue."

Neal took a sip of his coffee, his brow furrowing slightly. "What did she say?"  
"She assured me you wouldn't be. Then again, back then you wouldn't have been."

"Sorry to disappoint, your Majesty." He smirked and Regina's slightly icy demeanor melted a little.  
He almost envied this woman. Everything about her exuded pure control and undeniable strength. Regina stood taller than him, in her tasteful heels, and she did look regal in a business-chique black dress.  
By all means, she knew how to present herself.

"I never meant to take Henry from you."  
"I know," Regina sat opposite him, dragging a plate of cookies closer. "If you had, I wouldn't have let you cross my houses threshold. Take a cookie."

He didn't dare say no. Also, he was a sucker for chocolate chip-pecan.  
"You, me and Ms. Swan have always had one thing in common: we want what's best for Henry. That's why I sent you over the town line a year ago. Now you're here again. You do have the worst possible timing, just like your father."  
Neal didn't respond to what could have been an insult or just a mindless comment.

"We came here because Hook told me we were needed here. Now everyone tells me Hook is gone and coming here was the biggest mistake I could possibly have made."  
"Then maybe you should leave."  
"What about the town? Something is going on here."

Regina stirred some more milk into her coffee. "That's not your problem. We will take care of it, we always do."  
"See, I don't know how I feel about that." Neal looked at the woman in front of him. She had raised his son for the first ten years of his life, and she'd done very well. Maybe, without her, he'd never gotten the chance to meet his kid.

"Emma's family is here. You are here and I'm pretty sure Henry missed you. Maybe running away isn't the answer right now."  
"I would never demand you run, I think your car will do just fine. getting you out of town."  
"Returning to a life that isn't real is not my idea of happiness."  
"It is real, you made it so. I didn't give you jobs and friends, I didn't even give you this sickeningly sweet love story of yours. That was all you."

Neal sighed, ruffled his short hair so it stuck out into all directions, worse than usual.  
"Leaving wouldn't feel right. It wouldn't feel fair."  
"To loosely quote my son: none of this is fair." Regina took a cookie of her own and picked it apart. "I don't have any magic. I can't help Emma remember. How do you want to tell her about any of this? Why would she stay here?" Neal avoided her gaze, just like Henry did when he felt chastised. "She wouldn't leave a happy life behind, and she shouldn't. Also, it would be difficult to explain this town's affinity for mystery and trouble away. We tried that, remember? With your ex-girlfriend?"

"Ugh, don't remind me." Neal rubbed his forehead, where he could feel a headache form. "I don't know what to do. I think Henry wants to stay here if only to be with his family."  
He sighed deeply. "Did anyone try crossing the town line?"  
"Of course. It's just like it was before. Anyone who crosses ends up in an accident. No one can leave."

Neal's phone began to vibrate in his jacket and he saw Emma's name on the display once he had taken it out. "Hey," he said, sounding more casual than he felt, "how's Mary-Margaret doing?"  
"She's fine, just exhausted. She can go home tomorrow."  
"That's great!" even Regina seemed to visibly relax.

"I'm leaving the hospital now because David is here to keep her company. WHat's the plan for today?"  
Neal looked up at Regina, hesitating. "I only have one thing to take care fo before we can leave-"  
"Neal we can't leave now. The doctor put Mary-Margaret on bedrest, she might need some help around the apartment."  
"Henry has school and we both have work-"  
"Let's take a long weekend. Come on, we deserve this."  
"Emma-"  
"Nope. Neal, just this once. we deserve a break. Soon we'll have a lot to do. And maybe this will be one of those good Karma things, where we help out your sweet friends and then the universe helps us out once our baby comes."  
Neal felt an odd tug in his stomach when he realized, again, that they would have a baby. What if they were in danger now?  
"Let's talk about this later."  
"Great idea. I'm going to pick a few things up at the store and then go to Davids and Mary-Margarets place."  
"How are you going to get in?"  
"Oh, David gave me a key. They are so nice Neal."  
She almost sounded like she was chastising him. "I can not believe we never visited them earlier."  
"Yeah. They are good people."

And they were hurting. Neal wanted to pull his hair out, realizing that there was no good choice right now, so maybe he just had to choose the one option where the least people got hurt.  
Trouble was, he didn't know which one that was.

-

Regina sat in her library, leafing through her magic books. Of course, she didn't have actual magic right now, but that didn't mean her books couldn't tell her what was happening.

The trees growing in town didn't have an origin in their world. Then again, there were many worlds. Wonderland being one of them.

She knew only one person that knew multiple worlds intimately. Jefferson. She couldn't just go to him though, not after everything she'd done to him.

She knew he was in town, she had seen him with Grace when he'd walked his little daughter to school.  
So no Jefferson.

She looked at the pixel-y photos she had taken with her phone camera of the strange trees. They were incredibly tall and dark, more grey-black than brown. The branches were knotty, gnarly and didn't carry any leaves. It definitely wasn't any kind of tree that grew in this world or the fairytale world.

Wonderland didn't have trees that actually looked like trees, as far as Regina knew.  
There was more than that though. She hadn't hopped worlds like Jefferson, or her mother had. Not even Rumplestiltskin would have been of help. Of course, having her former mentor here would have been nice anyway. Sometimes he just happened to know things.

Regina sighed, leaned back in her chair and massaged her stiff neck.  
Her eyes were burning from the strain. It had gotten darker without Regina even noticing, and she had never switched on the light.

She pulled one of her many books closer, leafing through the pages without really looking at anything  
Maybe someone else could help. Sidney, maybe. He'd always had a way of finding things out one way or the other.  
But she had burned that bridge good and proper when she had sent him to the asylum.

A loud knock at the front door, made Regina flinch. The clock showed almost ten pm, not a good time to come to someone's home uninvited.

The knock came again, louder and more insistent this time.  
Maybe it was intuition that gave Regina an uncomfortable feeling in her stomach when she walked up to the door.  
The third knock, let the door tremble in its frame.

"Now this is just unnecessary," Regina bristled and tore the door open with a furious huff.  
In front of her, stood the last person she would have expected.

"You? Really?"

Albert Spencer, formerly known as King George, stood in front of her with his usual smarmy, self-assured grin. It sent an uncomfortable tingle down her spine. This smirk wasn't good news.

"Ms. Mills. As the district attorney of Storybrooke-", he began, but Regina interrupted: "That's a title you neither earned nor deserve. You are lucky your son didn't put you in jail where you can no longer do any harm."  
Spencer gave her his most condescending smile before he continued.

"In my capacity as district attorney, I must, regrettably, inform you, that you may not carry the title of Mayor any longer. Your role in the past concerns many citizens now and today, during a town hall meeting, it was decided to hold a new election. I assure you, of course, that the process will be fair and absolutely open to everyone. even you are allowed to vote."  
Regina's eyes narrowed. "David would never let this happen."

Spencer's face was a carefully constructed mask of patience. "David Nolan has no judicial rights in this town. After all, this is a democracy, isn't it?"

"Of course." Showing weakness wasn't an option now. The townspeople would most likely elect David anyway. He was their leader. Or had been.

"Have the candidates been announced yet?"  
"Naturally." There was a cruel glint in Spencer's eyes. "The people have spoken, Ms. Mills."  
"And who will be the lucky contestants?" She crossed her arms over her chest, leaned in the doorway, attempting to look at least a little more intimidating. Also, the stance hid her shaking hands.

"John Trent, formerly known as Claude Frollo, was kind enough to offer his services."  
"I thought he would be too busy with the church."

Spencer chuckled. It was an uncomfortable sound, accompanied by a badly hidden cough.  
"His brother has taken over his duties at the church, liberating him to accomplish more challenging things in the future."  
Regina breathed deeply, taking her time to steady her voice. "And who opposes him?"

"Archer King, formerly known as Captain Phoebus. He seems to have taken a strong dislike to Frollo."  
"Interesting. Is that everyone?" Regina's eyes narrowed.

"Keith David tried to get a foot in the door but it seems he lost his tongue."  
The joke was entirely lost on Regina, but judging by Spencer's amusement, it was about something completely unfunny.  
"Two worthy opponents then, I believe. Let's hope the people choose right."

"Indeed." Spencer turned away and Regina was just about to close the door when he spoke again.  
"Oh, before I forget," Spencer turned on his heel, smirking, "since this is the Mayor's mansion, you will have to move out before your successor is elected."

Regina felt like she was going to throw up. Still, she said: "Of course, that's no problem at all. I will make arrangements."  
"Very well. Good evening, Ms. Mills."

Regina didn't slam the door. She had to save face, while she could.

-

"Something smells delicious," David said while hanging up his jacket. He was starving and the fresh smell of tomatoes almost made him salivate.

He had never seen his daughter stand in front of a stove, cooking and the sight momentarily stopped him in his tracks.  
Neal was standing next to Emma, washing salad while Henry was grating cheese. Emma turned to him, smiling brightly. "We're making a thank-you dinner. Sit, the table's all set."

Neal was giving him some space by the sink, so he could wash his hands.  
"You really didn't have to, Emma. We love having you here."  
"It's from all of us. This is just my famous sauce recipe."  
"She got it out of some magazine," Henry interjected.

"Which means it's famous," Neal said, ruffling his son's hair. "That's more than enough cheese, Henry." He put the salad bowl and the equally large bowl with grated cheese in the middle of the table. "Go wash your hand's kid."  
"I assume a thank you dinner means you guys are leaving soon?"

Not that he was eager to see Emma go, all he wanted was to see her safe.  
"Well, that's something I thought we could talk about during dinner."  
Emma brought the sauce to the table and sat, while Neal got the noodles. When Henry reached for the salad, Emma cleared her throat. "Henry."

"Meh," Henry sighed and waited patiently until everyone was seated.  
"Now you can start."

Henry loaded his plate with food. He had developed quite an appetite in the past few weeks. Surely another growth spurt.  
"Okay, so..." Emma seemed unusually nervous when she spoke, "first of all: how is Mary-Margaret?"

"She's good, thanks to you." David smiled at his daughter. "She hates having to stay at the hospital, but it's safer this way."  
"She told me she's a teacher?"

David nodded, swallowed his food before he answered. "Oh yes, she is. She loves it, and the kids love her."  
"That's great, isn't it? Neal?"

"Yeah, it is. Teacher. Tough job." Neal had an odd expression on his face when he looked at Emma, obviously having no clue where she was going with this.

"It's so hard to find devoted teacher nowadays. Henry has some real nightmares at his school."  
"I've gotten better," Henry said, defensively, and Emma immediately backpedaled.  
"It's not you fault Henry. His teachers just don't care enough."

David frowned. "I'm very sorry to hear that." He hated the thought that his grandson had trouble at school. "My wife works with kids a little younger, but who knows what happens after the baby break?"

Literally, no one knew how things would go the next few weeks, so he wasn't even lying.

"Wouldn't it be great to have Mary-Margaret as one of your teachers Henry?"  
"I guess, yeah." He could hardly tell her he had already been Snow's student.

"What's the housing market like in Storybrooke?" Emma asked, so obviously casual that Neal, David, and Henry all stopped eating at once, just to stare at her.

"I'm sorry?" David stared at his daughter, trying to hide his shock. This was unexpected to say the very least.  
"I know this sounds crazy but STorybrooke just feels so familiar to me."

Neal choked on his food and Emma started clapping on his back, but kept talking: "I mean, the moment we came here it just felt like the perfect place for us as a family, you know? It's so much more peaceful than the city. I think it would be much better for raising a kid."

"Yeah, hi, I'm the kid at the table and I disagree," Henry said quickly. "I like the city."  
Neal wiped his teary eyes and drank a sip of water before saying with a hoarse voice: "The kid's right, what's wrong with the city?"

Emma sighed and smiled, embarrassed. "I'm sorry, this is all wrong. I planned this whole thing differently."  
"What thing?" David asked, worry lacing his words.

Emma sighed and wiped her mouth with a napkin before leaning back in her chair. Her eyes were brighter than usual, lit with the fire David usually saw in Snow when it was time for battle. That look meant trouble.  
"I think," she made a dramatic pause, "we should move to Storybrooke."

-

Mulan dropped her backpack and jacket on the floor the second she entered the apartment, toed off her boots and stumbled into the cramped living room. "Belle I'm starving, can we call up ruby to bring us an emergency meal?"

She pushed open the door to Belle's bedroom. It was empty and dark, the bed was still made.  
"Belle?"

Mulan walked to the bathroom and knocked on the door before opening. It was empty as well.

She frowned, sitting on the edge of the living room couch. No one had been in the library and when she had walked home, she'd seen Robin and his folks at Granny's, so Belle wasn't with him.

It wasn't at all like her friend to not leave a note when she went out.

There was an uncomfortable feeling deep in her gut, spreading through her like poison. Mulan's palm became sweaty and cold. Something was going on.

Mulan got up again and walked to the phone. She knew when to trust her instincts (always, she always trusted her instincts because they were always right).

She picked up the phone and dialed the restaurant's number. Everyone who could help was there.

-

When Belle woke up, she wasn't sure whether she had opened her eyes or not. She was surrounded by complete, undisturbed darkness.

Wherever she was, it smelled like earth and decay and it was freezing.

She lay on a cold, hard surface, shivering. Moving was painful.

There was a slow, steady sound close by, barely audible, like the whisper of a knock.  
"H..hello?" she asked weakly, her throat dry from dehydration.

A sudden eruption of light made her scream and scramble back. She almost fell off the polished stone slab she had been lying on.

A frightening skull mask was looking down at her, its eyes hollow, dark holes, but the body it sat on was alive, holding a torch.

"Welcome, to the court of miracles."


End file.
